Eastern Olive Toad

Fascinating facts about the Eastern Olive Toad

• Males grow to 4.2 inches and females to 4.5 inches in snout-vent length.
• The male advertisement call is a loud, low-pitched “kwaak” lasting about a second.
• Its range extends from Ethiopia and Somalia southward through Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, to South Africa and Eswatini, and west to Namibia and Angola.
• Living below 2,000 metres (6,600 ft), it makes homes in both arid savannas and cultivated fields, even breeding in temporary puddles or man-made pools, illustrating a flexibility that helps it survive human-altered landscapes.
• The species name honors Samuel Garman, an early American ichthyologist and herpetologist, reminding us that scientific discovery often carries the legacy of those who first charted nature’s hidden corners.

At a glance

About the Eastern Olive Toad

The Eastern Olive Toad, Sclerophrys garmani, is a robust amphibian whose body length reaches up to 106 mm in males and 115 mm in females. Its skin is a tapestry of tan to olive-brown tones, punctuated by large paired markings edged in black and a possible thin vertebral stripe that runs down the back. Distinct warts studded with tiny black spines give the dorsal surface a textured appearance, while the large parotoid glands sit just behind the eyes, whose tympanum is nearly as wide as the eye itself. The ventral side is a muted off-white, and the male’s call, a loud, low-pitched “kwaak” lasting about a second, echoes across the savanna at night, announcing breeding territories. Across a swath of East and Southern Africa, from Ethiopia and Somalia through Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, to South Africa, Eswatini, Namibia, and Angola, this toad thrives in both arid and wooded savannas as well as cultivated fields below 2,000 m. It exploits temporary water bodies, artificial pools, and even rivers to lay its eggs.

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