''Amietia delalandii'', also known as the Delalande's river frog, the Drakensberg frog, Drakensberg river frog, or Sani Pass frog, is a species of southern African

river frog The river frog (''Lithobates heckscheri'') is a species of aquatic frog in the family Ranidae. It is endemic to the southeastern United States. Its natural habitats are temperate rivers, swamps, freshwater lakes and freshwater marshes. It is t ...

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 fa ...

. It is found in Lesotho, South Africa, Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and possibly Zambia. It is the

sister species In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

to '' A. vertebralis''.

Description

River frogs all have streamlined bodies with pointed noses and live close to water. They have well-developed hind legs and when disturbed rapidly leap into the water, where they may remain submerged for long periods. Males reach a snout–urostyle length and females . The toes are partially webbed. The colouration is variable but typically the dorsum ranges from dull brown to luminous green with a pale brown background with orange flecks, and is covered by small dark brown blotches. About half of individuals have a prominent pale vertebral stripe. The tympanum is more than half the diameter of its eye and is dark with pale flecks. The

gular Gular is of or pertaining to the throat In vertebrate anatomy, the throat is the front part of the neck, internally positioned in front of the vertebrae. It contains the pharynx and larynx. An important section of it is the epiglottis, separatin ...

area is usually marbled, with the marbling extending to the chest; otherwise, the underside is unmarked and uniformly pale. The male advertisement call is a short series of frequency-modulated clicks, followed by a pause and a brief croak. They may call singly or in groups.

Distribution and habitat

''Amietia delalandii'' is found in the highlands of southern and eastern Lesotho to above 2,000 m asl, in Natal in the permanent mountain streams originating in the Drakensberg Escarpment and with a wide distribution throughout South Africa, except in the dry west of the country. As a high-altitude stream breeder the species is vulnerable to infection by the fungus '' Batrachochytrium''. They are adaptable species and may be found along large and small rivers, in savanna, forest fringes, and grasslands, and in ornamental ponds at elevations of

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance ( height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. Th ...

. Their eggs are laid individually in slow-moving to static water 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 ...

s are bottom feeders.

Conservation status

It is a common and widespread species that is facing at most localized threats. It is present in several protected areas.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q2245819, from2=Q25095666 delalandii Frogs of Africa Vertebrates of Lesotho Amphibians of Malawi Amphibians of Mozambique Amphibians of South Africa Amphibians of Zambia Amphibians of Zimbabwe Taxa named by Gabriel Bibron Taxa named by André Marie Constant Duméril Amphibians described in 1841 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot