The Natal ghost frog (''Hadromophryne natalensis'') 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 ...

in the family Heleophrynidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Hadromophryne''. ''Hadromophryne natalensis'' is found in Lesotho,

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 ...

, and Eswatini. It is a common species inhabiting montane forests and grasslands. It lives and breeds in and around fast-flowing, perennial mountain streams generally above waterfalls that limit access of fish. Adults live in rock crevices in cascades or in the riparian zone along streams. The larvae have broad, suctorial mouthparts and a streamlined form with a muscular tail allowing them to feed and maintain their position in torrent streams. They feed on algal films and detritus on rocks in torrent streams. Larval development takes up to two years therefore permanent streams are required for reproduction. It is potentially threatened by modifications of its habitat caused by afforestation, damming and siltation of streams, and water extraction. It is also negatively affected by the introduced trout.

References

Heleophrynoidea Monotypic amphibian genera Vertebrates of Lesotho Amphibians of South Africa Vertebrates of Eswatini Frogs of Africa Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Amphibians described in 1913 {{neobatrachia-stub