They are a tiny, chubby frog with a down-turned mouth, a bright cross-shaped pattern on their back, and only the size of a 20 cent piece.
But for landholders and traditional owners alike, the arrival of crucifix frogs, or holy cross frogs, in south-west Queensland is a good indicator the region has had a decent wet season.
"They only come up when we've got good rain," said Ross Mitchell, the chairman of the Jamba Dhandan Duringala Indigenous Protected Area.
Crucifix frogs are found throughout inland New South Wales and south-west Queensland and burrow up to 3 metres underground, only emerging when enough rain has soaked in.
South-west Queensland has been drought-declared since 2013 and those working closely with the land hope the emergence of the chubby little amphibians indicates their hard work is paying off and the landscape is recovering.
Land management success
Glenn Landsberg, from natural resource management group Southern Queensland Landscapes, first spotted a crucifix frog at one of his rehydration project sites near Charleville a month ago.
As a project officer, Mr Landsberg works with landholders to help restore ecosystems in the rangelands.
Many of the projects involve rehydration work, which aims to keep more moisture in wetlands and flood plains.
"Often there will just be a little erosion," Mr Landsberg said.
"You just have to get them functioning again, get the water back in, or stop the water [from] leaking.
"Then the wildlife that comes back is just extraordinary, and [it happens] so quickly."
Unlike some other wildlife, the crucifix frog allows Mr Landsberg to get up close and personal with it.
"Whereas [with] a lot of other animals [in the wetlands] you've got to be pretty quick to get a photo."
Land of the Happy Frog
South-west of Charleville, the Kooma people manage the Jamba Dhandan Duringala Indigenous Protected Area (IPA), which translates to the Land of the Happy Frog.
Mr Mitchell grew up watching the flow of the crucifix frog's life cycle.
"It's very significant to us," Mr Mitchell said.
"The elders have really made that significant point that this is the home of the happy frogs, and that's why they named our IPA after them."
Mr Mitchell, who also works as a project officer for Southern Queensland Landscapes, said seeing hundreds of thousands of the frogs emerging from the soil on country was mesmerising.
"When they breed, you see the movement of them around the country," Mr Mitchell said.
"[It looks like] the earth's moving on its own when you see them all together."
It's an encouraging sign for the environment.
But despite the good news, an official end to the drought is still some way off.
Rainfall has been patchy in regions across Queensland's west over the past year, and some areas have missed out entirely.
"Some people have had hardly any rain at all yet," Mr Landsberg said.
"The taps have sort of shut off this year, the people who didn't get some rain last year are certainly feeling it."
