hip pocket frog

noun

Either of two species of frog, Assa darlingtoni and Assa wollumbin, endemic to eastern Australia, notable in that the males have subcutaneous pouches on their hips in which they carry their tadpoles until they metamorphosize.

Similar
pouched frogmarsupial frog

Meanings

nounhip pocket frog (plural hip pocket frogs)

plural hip pocket frogs

  1. Either of two species of frog, Assa darlingtoni and Assa wollumbin, endemic to eastern Australia, notable in that the males have subcutaneous pouches on their hips in which they carry their tadpoles until they metamorphosize.
    1 more example

    The frogs are commonly referred to as pouched or hip pocket frogs, or sometimes the marsupial frog. […] “The hip pocket frog is not only unique for its amazing breeding biology among Australian frogs, but it is also unique among frogs of the world,” said the University of Newcastle’s Michael Mahony, one of the researchers who discovered the frog.

    2021 November 7, Lisa Cox, “New species of rare tadpole-carrying frog discovered in northern NSW”, in The Guardian

    Synonyms: pouched frog, marsupial frog

Synonyms & antonyms

nounEither of two species of frog, Assa darlingtoni and Assa wollumbin, endemic to eastern Australia, notable in that the males have subcutaneous pouches on their hips in which they carry their tadpoles until they metamorphosize.

Similar
pouched frogmarsupial frog
Cite this entry
APA

hip pocket frog. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hip%20pocket%20frog

MLA

“hip pocket frog.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hip%20pocket%20frog. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hip pocket frog,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hip%20pocket%20frog.

Source: hip pocket frog on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.