Delalande's Sand Frog

Fascinating facts about the Delalande's Sand Frog

• Female Delalande's sand frogs reach up to 50 mm (2 in) in snout–vent length.
• Male calls consist of a series of short ringing notes, about 6–8 notes per second.
• These frogs aren’t picky about where they breed, they use anything from fleeting rain-filled pans to semi-permanent dams, often in the sandy flats between shrubs. Their flexible breeding sites let populations thrive even when water bodies appear and disappear with the seasons. This adaptability underpins their status as a very abundant species across protected areas.
• Local populations can be threatened by habitat loss caused by the spread of alien vegetation and agricultural and urban expansion.
• The specific name delalandii honors Pierre Antoine Delalande, a French explorer and naturalist who collected in the Cape area in 1818.

At a glance

About the Delalande's Sand Frog

Delalande's sand frog, Tomopterna delalandii, is a robust, toad-like amphibian that roams the low-lying sands of Namaqualand, the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape as far east as Cape St. Francis. Females grow to about 50 mm in snout-vent length, sporting a broad head, large bulging eyes and relatively short legs. Their skin ranges from light grey to dark brown, mottled with a pale patch between the shoulders and often marked by a pale vertebral stripe and side stripes; males can be recognized by a dark throat. The species lacks finger or toe discs, though the toes bear modest webbing, and the male’s advertisement call is a rapid series of short ringing notes, six to eight per second, that echo across the flat, sandy habitats where they dwell. In the fynbos heathlands and succulent karoo shrublands, as well as agricultural fields, Delalande's sand frog finds its niche in temporary and semi-permanent water bodies, pans, pools, vleis and dams, where it breeds.

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