The Bainskloof moss frog or Bainskloof chirping frog (''Arthroleptella bicolor'') is a species of
frog
A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...
s in the family
Pyxicephalidae
The Pyxicephalidae are a family of frogs currently found in sub-Saharan Africa. However, in the Eocene, the taxon '' Thaumastosaurus'' lived in Europe.
Classification
The Pyxicephalidae contain two subfamilies, with a total of 12 genera. This f ...
. It is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found else ...
to
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
.
Description
The Bainskloof moss frog is a small frog which reaches a maximum length of 22 mm. The body is rather squat with short limbs and a rounded head. The background colour of its skin varies from orangey brown to black with darker patches and paler spots on the back and legs.
Distribution
The Bainskloof moss frog is endemic to Riviersonderend Mountains
The Riviersonderend Mountains are a mountain range in the Cape Fold Belt of the Western Cape province of South Africa. They run east to west from Riviersonderend to Villiersdorp, separating the Breede River Valley from the Overberg region. They ...
, Dutoitsberg, Elandskloof and Limietberg Mountains in Western Cape Province
The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...
, South Africa. This species can be found between 300-2,000 m above sea level. The extent of this species total distribution is probably less than 20,000 km².
Habitat
The Bainskloof moss frog favours wet mossy areas near watercourses, hillside or roadside seepages, and heavily vegetated streams, within montane fynbos and frequently on steep hillsides. Its known range is situated outside the 750mm isohyet
A contour line (also isoline, isopleth, or isarithm) of a function of two variables is a curve along which the function has a constant value, so that the curve joins points of equal value. It is a plane section of the three-dimensional grap ...
.
Biology
The Bainskloof moss frog begins breeding at the onset of the winter rainstadpole
A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found ...
s.[
]
Conservation status
This species is patchily distributed but widespread, in small discrete populations within the montane fynbos which is not a significantly fragmented habitat. The habitat of the Bainskloof Moss Frog lies mainly within protected areas, although even here it is threatened by the spread of pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts ...
s and other alien species and too frequent bush fires.
Taxonomy
It was formerly considered conspecific with '' Arthroleptella lightfooti''.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2244684
Arthroleptella
Endemic amphibians of South Africa
Amphibians described in 1926
Taxa named by John Hewitt (herpetologist)
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot