Strongylopus fasciatus

AmphibiaAnuraPyxicephalidaeStrongylopus
Written By Gary Nicolau

Striped Stream Frog

Alternative names:
Isele lasemfuleni elinemidwaa (Zulu)
Langtoonrivierpadda (Afrikaans)

Species: Strongylopus fasciatus (Smith, 1849)

Distribution: Eswatini; Lesotho; Mozambique; South Africa; Zambia; Zimbabwe
Distribution extended: May occur in Botswana

Type Locality:
Notes:

Habitat: Forest, Fynbos, Grassland, Savanna, Thicket
Habitat extended: Commonly encountered around grassy areas and reed beds along streams, rivers and wetlands.

 

Natural History: A widespread and common species. Can tolerate human disturbance.
Tadpole: Largely pelagic. Appears to spend much of the time resting/hanging on leaves and branches of hydrophytes within the water column (Van Dijk, 1972)
Call: Brief whistle, sometimes a high-pitched click. Air temperature does not affect the frequency (Channing et al. 2022)

Biology: Breeding sites have a varying abundance of males present. Eggs are laid in shallow water, generally amongst vegetation.
Tadpole: Tadpoles reach metamorphosis in 4–5 months

Conservation Status: According to the IUCN Red List, this species is classified as "Least Concern" indicating that it is not currently considered to be at high risk of extinction.

Additional information

AmphibiaWeb(See here)
IUCN Red List (See here)
iNaturalist (See here)

LITERATURE

  • Bates, M. F. (2004). New frog records for the Free State. Culna, 2004(59), 08-10.

  • Bates, M.F., & Haacke, W. (2003). The frogs of Lesotho: diversity and distribution. Navorsinge van die Nasionale Museum: Researches of the National Museum, 19(6), 143-146.

  • Channing, A., Schmitz, A., Zancolli, G., Conradie, W., & Rödel, M. O. (2022). Phylogeny and taxonomy of the African frog genus Strongylopus (Anura: Pyxicephalidae). Revue suisse de Zoologie, 129(1), 243-281.

  • Clarke, B. T., & Poynton, J. C. (2005). A new species of stream frog, genus Strongylopus (Anura: Ranidae) from Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, with comments on a ‘northern volcanic mountains group’within the genus. African Journal of Herpetology, 54(1), 53-60.

  • Conradie, W. (2006). Seasonal variation in anuran diversity and activity in the Vredefort Dome conservation area (Doctoral dissertation, North-West University).

  • Dubois, A. (1997). Strongylogus Tschudi, 1838 (Amphibia, Anura): proposed designation of Rana fasciata Smith, 1849 as the type species. Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature, 54, 162-166.

  • du Preez, L. H., & Kok, D. J. (1993). Polystomatidae (Monogenea) of Anura in southern Africa: Polystoma testimagna n. sp. parasitic in Strongylopus f. fasciatus (Smith, 1849). Systematic Parasitology, 25(3), 213-219.

  • Greig J.C., Boycott R.C., de Villiers A.L. 1979. Notes on the elevation of Rana fasciata montana FitzSimons, 1946 to specific rank and on the identity of Rana fasciata sensu Burchell, 1824 (Anura: Ranidae). Annals of the Cape Provincial Museums, Natural History 13: 1–30. 

  • IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group. 2013. Strongylopus fasciatus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013: e.T58765A3073186. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-2.RLTS.T58765A3073186.en. Accessed on 16 April 2024.

  • Jacobsen, N. (1978). Colloquial names for southern African reptiles and amphibians. The Journal of the Herpetological Association of Africa, 18(1), 7-13.

  • Kopij, G. (2017). Lower vertebrates of Sehlabathebe National Park, Lesotho. Biosystems Diversity, 25(4), 312-317.

  • Kruger, D. J., Hamer, A. J., & Du Preez, L. H. (2015). Urbanization affects frog communities at multiple scales in a rapidly developing African city. Urban Ecosystems, 18, 1333-1352.

  • Poynton, J. C. (2013). Afrotemperate amphibians in southern and eastern Africa: A critical review. African journal of herpetology, 62(1), 5-20.

  • Smith, A. 1849. Illustrations of the Zoology of South Africa; Consisting Chiefly of Figures and Descriptions of the Objects of Natural History Collected during an Expedition into the Interior of South Africa, in the Years 1834, 1835, and 1836 .... Vol. III. Reptilia, Part 28.  London: Smith, Elder, & Co.

  • Van Dijk, D. E. (1972). The behaviour of southern African anuran tadpoles with particular reference to their ecology and related external morphological features. Zoologica Africana, 7(1), 49-55.

  • Van Dijk, D. E. (1971). Anuran ecology in relation particularly to oviposition and development out of water. African Zoology, 6(1), 119-132.

Gary Nicolau
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