Amietia delalandii (Duméril & Bibron, 1841)

General River Frog Traits

All river frogs have streamlined bodies with pointed snouts, and live near water.

Escape Response

Amietia delalandii, a river frog species, has well-developed hind legs; when disturbed, it leaps rapidly into water and can stay submerged there for long periods.

Size

Males grow to a snout-urostyle length of 58 mm (2.3 in), while females reach 83 mm (3.3 in).

Toe Structure

Their toes are partially webbed.

Dorsal Colouration

Their colouration is variable, but typically the dorsum ranges from dull brown to bright green, over a pale brown background with orange flecks, and is covered in small dark brown blotches.

Vertebral Stripe Occurrence

Roughly half of all individuals have a prominent pale vertebral stripe.

Tympanum Features

The tympanum has a diameter more than half that of the eye, is dark, and has pale flecks.

Underside Markings

The gular area is usually marbled, and this marbling extends to the chest; the rest of the underside is unmarked and uniformly pale.

Male Advertisement Call

The male’s advertisement call is a short series of frequency-modulated clicks, followed by a pause and a brief croak.

Calling Behavior

Males may call either singly or in groups.

Geographic Distribution

Amietia delalandii is distributed from the highlands of southern and eastern Lesotho up to over 2,000 m above sea level, in Natal in the permanent mountain streams that originate from the Drakensberg Escarpment, and is widely distributed across most of South Africa, excluding the country’s dry west.

Pathogen Vulnerability

As a high-altitude stream breeder, this species is vulnerable to infection by the fungus Batrachochytrium.

Habitat Range

It is an adaptable species, and can be found along large and small rivers, in savanna, forest fringes, and grasslands, and in ornamental ponds, at elevations ranging from 200–1,500 m (660–4,920 ft) above sea level.

Reproduction and Tadpole Traits

This species lays eggs individually in slow-moving to still water, and its tadpoles are bottom feeders.