{{short description|Species of frog}} {{Not to be confused with|Mossy frog}} {{Speciesbox | image = Crinia nimbus.jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn |author=IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group. |year=2022 |title=''Crinia nimbus'' |volume=2022 |article-number=e.T54352A78430882 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-2.RLTS.T54352A78430882.en |access-date=11 February 2024}}</ref> | taxon = Crinia nimbus | authority = (Rounsevell, Ziegeler, Brown, Davies & Littlejohn, 1994) | synonyms = * ''Bryobatrachus nimbus'' <small>Rounsevell, Ziegeler, Brown, Davies & Littlejohn, 1994</small><ref name="Rounsevell et al. 1994"/> | synonyms_ref = <ref name=Frost/> }}
The '''moss froglet''' ('''''Crinia nimbus''''') is a species of frog in the family Myobatrachidae. It is endemic to southern Tasmania.<ref name=IUCN/><ref name=Frost/><ref name="Tasmanian Frogs"/>
==Description== Adult males measure {{convert|19-27|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} and adult females {{convert|25-30|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} in snout–vent length. The snout is short and projecting. The eyes are prominent. The tympanum is indistinct. The fingers and toes are unwebbed. Dorsal colouration ranges from very dark brown to grey-brown or tan. There are darker markings that are quite obscure in the darkest-coloured specimens. Some individuals have a pale or tan mid-vertebral stripe. Ventral surfaces are dark brown with fine white spots or pale with dark spots.<ref name="Rounsevell et al. 1994"/>
The male advertisement call is a series of ''tok'''s,<ref name="Rounsevell et al. 1994"/> likened to a ping-pong ball being dropped on wood.<ref name="Tasmanian Frogs"/>
==Habitat== ''Crinia nimbus'' is the only fully terrestrial frog in Tasmania.<ref name="Mitchell and Swain 1996"/> They live in moist, cool, alpine habitats, poorly drained sites in moor land (shrubland and heath), and rainforest, from the sea level to {{convert|1287|m|abbr=on}}.<ref name=IUCN/> They are mostly quite cryptic and hide in vegetation and in the nest cavities, but males can be heard calling in spring to summer.<ref name="Rounsevell et al. 1994"/>
==Reproduction== Females lay clutches of 4–16 egg in nests in moss, lichen, or peat. The larvae hatch inside egg capsules. After a while, egg capsules disintegrate, but the larvae continue their development in the resulting gelatinous mass as free-living, but non-feeding larvae. They only leave the nest after completing the metamorphosis, about one year after starting their development.<ref name="Mitchell and Swain 1996"/>
==Conservation== ''Crinia nimbus'' is probably widespread in southwestern Tasmania. There are no know threats to it, although the terrestrial nests are vulnerable to trampling by animals and people (tourists and researchers alike). Most of the range is protected by national parks.<ref name=IUCN/>
==References== {{Reflist|30em|refs= <ref name="Tasmanian Frogs">{{cite web |url=https://nre.tas.gov.au/wildlife-management/fauna-of-tasmania/reptiles-and-frogs/tasmanian-frogs/moss-froglet |title=Moss Froglet |author= |date=8 November 2018 |work=Tasmanian Frogs |publisher=Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania |access-date=12 February 2024}}</ref>
<ref name=Frost>{{cite web |url=https://amphibiansoftheworld.amnh.org/Amphibia/Anura/Myobatrachoidea/Myobatrachidae/Crinia/Crinia-nimbus |title=''Crinia nimbus'' (Rounsevell, Ziegeler, Brown, Davies, and Littlejohn, 1994) |author=Frost, Darrel R. |year=2024 |work=Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.2 |publisher=American Museum of Natural History |doi=10.5531/db.vz.0001 |access-date=12 February 2024}}</ref>
<ref name="Rounsevell et al. 1994">{{cite journal |last1=Rounsevell |first1=D. E. |last2=Ziegeler |first2=D. |last3=Brown |first3=P. B. |last4=Davies |first4=Margaret |last5=Littlejohn |first5=M. J. |title=A new genus and species of frog (Anura: Leptodactylidae: Myobatrachinae) from southern Tasmania |journal=Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia |date=1994 |volume=118 |pages=171–185 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/81563}}</ref>
<ref name="Mitchell and Swain 1996">{{cite journal |last1=Mitchell |first1=N. |last2=Swain |first2=R. |title=Terrestrial development in the Tasmanian frog, ''Bryobatrachus nimbus'' (Anura: Myobatrachinae): larval development and a field staging table |journal=Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania |date=1996 |volume=130 |pages=75–80 |doi=10.26749/rstpp.130.1.75}}</ref> }}
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Category:Crinia Category:Frogs of Australia Category:Amphibians of Tasmania Category:Endemic fauna of Tasmania Category:Amphibians described in 1994 Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot