Hadromophryne natalensis (Hewitt, 1913)

Class: Amphibia > Order: Anura > Family: Heleophrynidae > Genus: Hadromophryne > Species: Hadromophryne natalensis

Heleophryne natalensis Hewitt, 1913, Ann. Natal Mus., 2: 477. Holotype: Larva in the Marianhill Monastery Museum, KwaZulu-Natal, Rep. South Africa. Type locality: "at an altitude of 1500 feet in a tributary of the Krantz Kloof River . . . . a pool of little depth and small dimensions; the tributary flows through virgin forest along a valley of the Krantz Kloof, and has in its course several falls and cascades, the bed of the stream being largely covered with boulders", KwaZulu-Natal, Rep. South Africa; probably in the Krantzkloof Nature Reserve, 12 miles north-west of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, Rep. South Africa, according to Poynton, 1964, Ann. Natal Mus., 17: 40.

Heleophryne sylvestris Hewitt, 1926, Ann. Natal Mus., 5: 441. Syntypes: TMP. Type locality: "the Woodbush [Forest Reserve], Transvaal", (now in Limpopo Province,) Rep. South Africa. Provisional synonymy by FitzSimons, 1947, Ann. Natal Mus., 11: 119.

Hadromophryne natalensis — Van Dijk, 2008, Afr. J. Herpetol., 57: 47.

Common Names

Natal Ghost Frog (Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 3; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 56; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 51; Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 111; Boycott, 2004, in Minter et al. (eds.), Atlas Frogs S. Afr. Lesotho and Swaziland: 100).

Natal Cascade Frog (Du Preez and Carruthers, 2017, Frogs S. Afr., Compl. Guide: 212).

Heleo Frog (Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 56).

Natal Torrent Frog (Van Dijk, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 17: 14).

Southeastern Ghost Frog (Van Dijk, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 17: 14).

Southeastern Torrent Frog (Van Dijk, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 17: 14).

Cascade Frog (Du Preez and Carruthers, 2009, Compl. Guide Frogs S. Afr.: 196).

Distribution

Through the KwaZulu-Natal midlands escarpment, Maluti Mountains, and along the Drakensberg mountains and western Eswatini to northeastern South Africa; northern highlands of Lesotho.

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: Eswatini, Lesotho, South Africa

Comment

See accounts by Lambiris, 1988, Lammergeyer, 39: 45-46, Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 111-112, and Boycott, 2004, in Minter et al. (eds.), Atlas Frogs S. Afr. Lesotho and Swaziland: 100-101. Grobler, Mafumo, and Minter, 2003, Biochem. Syst. Ecol., 31: 1023-1032, reported on interpopulational genetic variation that suggests that this is a species complex, within which Heleophryne sylvestris may be valid (M. Cunningham, personal commun.). Van Dijk, 2008, Afr. J. Herpetol., 57: 43-48, suggested that the synonymy of Heleophryne sylvestris should be reinvestigated. Du Preez and Carruthers, 2009, Compl. Guide Frogs S. Afr.: 196-199, provided an account. Bates and Haacke, 2003, Navors. Nas. Mus. Bloemfontein, 19: 113, discussed the species in Lesotho. Channing, Rödel, and Channing, 2012, Tadpoles of Africa: 168–170, reported on comparative tadpole morphology. Du Preez and Carruthers, 2017, Frogs S. Afr., Compl. Guide: 212–215, provided an account, including a polygon range map, photograph, identification features, adult and larval morphology, habitat, and call. Phaka, Netherlands, Kruger, and Du Preez, 2017, Bilingual Field Guide Frogs Zululand: 34, provided a photograph, Zululand regional map, and a brief account of life history and identification. Channing and Rödel, 2019, Field Guide Frogs & Other Amph. Afr.: 52–53, provided a brief account, photograph, and range map.

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