Delalande's sand frog (''Tomopterna delalandii''), also known as Delalande's frog, Cape sand frog, or striped pixie, is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

in the family Pyxicephalidae. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to western and southern South Africa and occurs in the low-lying areas of Namaqualand,

Western Cape The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , an ...

, and

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

as far east as Cape St. Francis.

Etymology

The specific name ''delalandii'' honours Pierre Antoine Delalande, a French explorer and naturalist who collected in the Cape area in 1818.

Description

''Tomopterna delalandii'' is a robust-bodied species with toad-like appearance and gait. Females can reach in snout–vent length. The head is broad and the eyes are large and bulging. The legs are relatively short. There are no finger or toe discs but the toes have some webbing. The upper parts vary in colouration from light grey to dark brown, usually with a mottled appearance and a pale patch between the shoulders. There is also usually a pale vertebral stripe, and often a pale stripe on either side of the body. Males have a dark throat. The male advertisement call is a series of short ringing notes, with about 6–8 notes per second.

Habitat and conservation

The species occurs in

fynbos Fynbos (; , ) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. The area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean climate. The fynbos ...

heath land and succulent karroo shrubland, and it can also live in agricultural land. Breeding takes place in both temporary and semi-permanent bodies of water found in pans, pools, vleis and dams, in flat, sandy areas. It is a very abundant species that occurs in several protected areas. It can be locally threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

caused by the spread of alien vegetation and agricultural and urban expansion.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2246888 Tomopterna Frogs of Africa Endemic amphibians of South Africa Fynbos Natural history of Cape Town Amphibians described in 1838 Taxa named by Johann Jakob von Tschudi Taxonomy articles created by Polbot