List of amphibians of South Africa

The list of amphibians of South Africa is a list of species that form a part of the class Amphibia (Phylum Chordata) fauna of South Africa. The list follows the SANBI listing.

Amphibians are ectothermic, tetrapod vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arboreal or freshwater aquatic ecosystems. Thus amphibians typically start out as larvae living in water, but some species have developed behavioural adaptations to bypass this.

The young generally undergo metamorphosis from larva with gills to an adult air-breathing form with lungs. Amphibians use their skin as a secondary respiratory surface and some small terrestrial salamanders and frogs lack lungs and rely entirely on their skin. They are superficially similar to lizards but, along with mammals and birds, reptiles are amniotes and do not require water bodies in which to breed. With their complex reproductive needs and permeable skins, amphibians are often ecological indicators; in recent decades there has been a dramatic decline in amphibian populations for many species around the globe.

The earliest amphibians evolved in the Devonian period from sarcopterygian fish with lungs and bony-limbed fins, features that were helpful in adapting to dry land. They diversified and became dominant during the Carboniferous and Permian periods, but were later displaced by reptiles and other vertebrates. Over time, amphibians shrank in size and decreased in diversity, leaving only the modern subclass Lissamphibia.

The three modern orders of amphibians are Anura (the frogs and toads), Urodela (the salamanders), and Apoda (the caecilians). The number of known amphibian species is approximately 8,000, of which nearly 90% are frogs. The smallest amphibian (and vertebrate) in the world is a frog from New Guinea (Paedophryne amauensis) with a length of just 7.7 mm (0.30 in). The largest living amphibian is the 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) South China giant salamander (Andrias sligoi), but this is dwarfed by the extinct 9 m (30 ft) Prionosuchus from the middle Permian of Brazil. The study of amphibians is called batrachology, while the study of both reptiles and amphibians is called herpetology. (Full article...)

Where common names are given, they are not necessarily the only common names in use for the species.

Anura

Order Anura – Frogs and toads.

Arthroleptidae

Family Arthroleptidae

Bufonidae

Family Bufonidae

  • Genus Amietophrynus:[1]
    • Amietophrynus garmani (Meek, 1897), Garman's toad, syn. Bufo garmani Meek, 1897, endemic to Africa
    • Amietophrynus gutturalis (Power, 1927), Guttural toad, syn. Bufo gutturalis Power, 1927, endemic to Africa
    • Amietophrynus maculatus (Hallowell, 1854), Flat-backed toad, syn. Bufo maculatus Hallowell, 1854, endemic to Africa
    • Amietophrynus pantherinus (Smith, 1828), Western leopard toad, syn. Bufo cruciger Schmidt, 1846, Bufo pantherinus Smith, 1828, endemic
    • Amietophrynus pardalis (Hewitt, 1935), Eastern leopard toad, syn. Bufo pardalis Hewitt, 1935, Bufo regularis pardalis Hewitt, 1935, endemic
    • Amietophrynus poweri (Hewitt, 1935), Kimberley toad, syn. Bufo regularis poweri Hewitt, 1935, Bufo poweri Hewitt, 1935, endemic
    • Amietophrynus rangeri (Hewitt, 1935), Kei Road toad, syn. Bufo regularis rangeri Hewitt, 1935, Bufo rangeri Hewitt, 1935, endemic
  • Genus Capensibufo:[1]
  • Genus Poyntonophrynus:[1]
  • Genus Schismaderma:[1]
    • Schismaderma carens (Smith, 1848), Red toad, syn. Bufo carens, Schismaderma lateralis, endemic
  • Genus Vandijkophrynus:[1]
    • Vandijkophrynus amatolicus (Hewitt, 1925), Amatola toad, syn. Bufo amatolicus Hewitt, 1925 |Bufo angusticeps amatolica Hewitt, 1925, endemic
    • Vandijkophrynus angusticeps (Smith, 1848), Sand toad, syn. Bufo angusticeps Smith, 1848, endemic
    • Vandijkophrynus gariepensis (Smith, 1848), Karroo toad, syn. Bufo gariepensis Smith, 1848, endemic in Southern Africa
    • Vandijkophrynus gariepensis gariepensis (Smith, 1848), endemic
    • Vandijkophrynus gariepensis nubicolus Hewitt, 1927, endemic
    • Vandijkophrynus robinsoni (Branch & Braack, 1996), Paradise toad, syn. Bufo robinsoni Branch and Braack, 1996, endemic in Southern Africa

Heleophrynidae

Family Heleophrynidae

  • Genus Hadromophryne:[1]
    • Hadromophryne natalensis (Hewitt, 1913), Natal ghost frog, syn. Heleophryne sylvestris, Heleophryne natalensis Hewitt, 1913, endemic in Southern Africa
  • Genus Heleophryne:[1]
    • Heleophryne depressa FritzSimons, 1946, endemic
    • Heleophryne hewitti Boycott, 1988, Hewitt's ghost frog, endemic
    • Heleophryne orientalis FitzSimons, 1946, Eastern ghost frog, syn. Heleophryne purcelli orientalis, endemic
    • Heleophryne purcelli Sclater, 1898, Purcell's African ghost frog, syn. Heleophryne purcelli purcelli, endemic
    • Heleophryne regis Hewitt, 1910, Southern ghost frog, syn. Heleophryne purcelli regis, endemic
    • Heleophryne rosei Hewitt, 1925, Rose’s ghost frog, endemic

Hemisotidae

Family Hemisotidae

  • Genus Hemisus:[1]
    • Hemisus guineensis Cope, 1865, Guinea snout-burrower, syn. Engystoma vermiculatum, Hemisus marmoratum guineensis, endemic
    • Hemisus guttatus (Rapp, 1842), Spotted burrowing frog, syn. Engystoma guttatus, endemic
    • Hemisus marmoratus (Peters, 1854), Marbled snout-burrower, endemic

Hyperoliidae

Family Hyperoliidae

Microhylidae

Family Microhylidae

Phrynobatrachidae

Family Phrynobatrachidae

Pipidae

Family Pipidae

  • Genus Xenopus:[1]
    • Xenopus gilli Rose & Hewitt, 1927, Cape clawed toad, syn. Xenopus laevis gilli, Xenopus gilli Rose and Hewitt, 1927, endemic
    • Xenopus laevis (Daudin, 1802), African clawed frog, syn. Bufo laevis, endemic
    • Xenopus muelleri (Peters, 1844), Muller's clawed frog, syn. Dactylethra muelleri, endemic

Ptychadenidae

Family Ptychadenidae

Pyxicephalidae

Family Pyxicephalidae

Ranidae

Family Ranidae

Rhacophoridae

Family Rhacophoridae

  • Genus Chiromantis:[1]
    • Chiromantis xerampelina Peters, 1854, Gray tree frog, near endemic

Notes

    References
    1. "Checklist of South African Chordata, Class Amphibia. Animal checklist website". South African National Biodiversity Institute. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
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