‘Unique’ frogs in NSW rainforests feared locally extinct after black summer bushfires

Pugh's mountain frog (Philoria pughi), which lives in boggy rainforest habitat and has a call that ‘sounds like a bit of a fart’, was among the hardest hit by the black summer bushfires. Photograph: Stephen Mahony

Several frog species are feared to be locally extinct in parts of New South Wales after the black summer bushfires, a survey of amphibian populations has found.

Scientists conducted a survey of 411 sites in north-east and south-east NSW, monitoring 35 frog species for 18 months after the 2019-2020 bushfire season.