Tandy's sand frog (''Tomopterna tandyi'') is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...

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 found in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and south-western Angola, and from inland Tanzania and Kenya. It probably occurs more widely within and between these two disjunct areas. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''tandyi'' honours Robert Mills Tandy, an American biologist, herpetologist, and photographer and the collector of the type material.

Systematics

This species is a

tetraploid Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than one pair of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes, where each set contains ...

that probably originated as a

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

between '' Tomopterna cryptotis'' and ''

Tomopterna delalandii Delalande's sand frog (''Tomopterna delalandii''), also known as Delalande's frog, Cape sand frog, or striped pixie, is a species of frog in the family Pyxicephalidae. It is endemic to western and southern South Africa and occurs in the low-lying ...

''. It is not possible to distinguish it morphologically from these two species, and many distributional records do not separate between ''T. tandyi'' and ''T. cryptotis''.

Description

The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

, an adult male, measures in snout–vent length. The tympanum is visible. The fingers have no webbing whereas the toes are partially webbed. The dorsum has patches of grey or olive on lighter background. The dorsal warts are reddish brown with black marks. Many individuals have a dark interocular bar. The male advertisement call is a series of continuously repeated notes. The call rate is about 7–8 notes per second and the emphasized frequency about 2700–2800 Hz. The call is distinct from ''T. delalandii'' and ''T. cryptotis''.

Habitat and conservation

Tandy's sand frog occurs in dry

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

, bush land, and grassland at elevations below . It can often be found in agricultural areas and is associated with loose sandy soils where

pans Cookware and bakeware is food preparation equipment, such as cooking pots, pans, baking sheets etc. used in kitchens. Cookware is used on a stove or range cooktop, while bakeware is used in an oven. Some utensils are considered both cookware ...

form. Breeding takes place in ephemeral shallow water, ditches, streams, and dams, after individuals emerge from burrows at the start of the rainy season. The eggs are deposited in pools formed by rainfall, and the

tadpole 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 i ...

s develop in these. It is an adaptable species that is locally common in parts of its range. It is unlikely to face more than localized threats. It is probably occurs in many protected areas.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2704961 tandyi Frogs of Africa Amphibians of Angola Amphibians of Botswana Amphibians of Kenya Amphibians of Namibia Amphibians of South Africa Amphibians of Tanzania Amphibians described in 1996 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot