FROGS ON THE BRINK

IT’S UNLIKELY THE northern tinker frog will ever be seen again. Once found in the 200km of mountainous rain-forests that stretch from north of Port Douglas to south of Cairns, Queensland, this little amphibian with a call said to be like soft metallic tapping was last seen more than 20 years ago. And no-one has ever seen its eggs or tadpoles.

Likewise, the mountain mistfrog, also from the rainforests of Queensland’s Wet Tropics, has been missing for decades. It’s been 30 years since anyone heard its call, which was described as a soft, slow, popping growl. Neither of these amphibians has yet been formally added to Australia’s extinct species list, which already has four frogs. But the chance that