Australian Lace-lid

Litoria dayi is a stream-dwelling frog distinguished by the fine web of skin along the edge of its lower eyelid, which gives rise to its common name and a distinctive lace-like appearance under the eye. Adults have a slender build with granular skin on the back and long limbs adapted for clinging to rocks and vegetation near fast-flowing water. Active mainly at night, individuals rest on rocks, leaves, or overhanging branches along stream banks by day and forage on invertebrates, contributing to the regulation of insect populations while themselves serving as prey for birds, reptiles, and other predators.

The species is restricted to northeastern Queensland, Australia, where it inhabits subtropical and tropical moist lowland and upland rainforest associated with permanent rivers and streams, often in rocky, well-shaded stream sections that provide stable moisture and temperature conditions.

Its populations face pressure from logging and associated forest disturbance, which alters stream shading and water quality, as well as from dam construction and water management practices that change natural flow regimes. Chytrid fungus, an invasive pathogen affecting amphibians worldwide, remains an ongoing concern, compounding stress from habitat shifting linked to climate change and periodic drought. Expansion of non-timber agricultural crops near riparian zones further fragments and degrades suitable habitat.

Conservation efforts include habitat protection within Queensland's rainforest reserves and national parks, ongoing monitoring of population trends, and broader disease-management research targeting chytrid fungus in Australian amphibians. Riparian zone protections tied to forestry and water-use regulations also contribute to habitat safeguarding.

The population trend is currently assessed as stable, suggesting that existing protections and habitat retention within its range are helping maintain numbers, though the species remains classified as Vulnerable given its restricted range and continued exposure to multiple environmental pressures.