There are twelve species of frog at Phillipskop. Some of these are more often heard than seen, while others are rarely heard but quite common to find in pools and streams. The colour of many of the frogs can be quite variable and therefore shape and call are the best diagnostics characters for frogs. We therefore provide, where we can, a range of photographs of the species, along with a recording of the call. The calls are often limited to certain times of the year or only after periods of rain.
Cape River Frog (Amietia fuscigula)
The commonest frog at Phillipskop and one of the largest at 6-12cm long. It is found in both streams and ponds. The call is a typical croak and is mainly heard in the summer months. It sometimes has a distinctive stripe down its back but this can also be found in the Clicking Stream Frog. It can be distinguished from the latter by its larger size and the longest toe of the hind leg having webbing at least halfway along its length. From above the snout is also slightly more rounded.
Clicking Stream Frog (Strongylopus grayii)
The call of the Clicking Stream Frog is very familiar and easily identified. They mainly call from late autumn through winter (in contrast to the Cape River Frog, which mainly calls during the summer). It is commonly found around the buildings and in wet ditches but is more localised at Phillipskop than the Cape River Frog. In looks, it can appear similar to the Cape River Frog but is much smaller, only up to 5cm in length. However, juvenile Cape River Frogs could be confused and then it is important to look at the toes on the back feet, which in the Clicking Stream Frog lack webbing for most of their length so look unusually long and thin.
Banded Stream Frog (Strongylopus bonaespei)
Despite its name, the Banded Stream Frog is less restricted to permanently wet places than the Clicking Stream Frog or Cape River Frog, only requiring seepages for breeding. It is not unusual to find it crawling through the fynbos some distance from the nearest stream. While the Clicking Stream Frog can sometimes have a central stripe down its back, the Banded Stream Frog always has much broader and distinctive colour bands down its back and across the hind legs. Although similar in size (up to 5cm long), it is a more gracile slender frog than the Clicking Stream Frog. Its call is less distinctive than the Clicking Stream Frog, more a harsh crackle. It particularly likes to call from the areas around the water butts at Phillipskop.
Raucous Toad (Schlerophrys capensis)
The bulkiest of all our frogs reaching to 10cm long and almost as wide! The most distinctive feature in these toads is the swollen bars of skin behind the eyes where the parotoid glands are situated. In juveniles, these regions can be quite pinkish brown but in adults, they are the same colour but the skin is smoother and raised. At Phillipskop it can be found hidden under rocks throughout the reserve, but most frequently seen near accommodation at night when it is attracted by the insects that visit the lights. As its name suggests its call is very loud and more like a quack than a croak. It is closely related to the endangered Western Leopard Toad, which is found in the Stanford area but so far not at Phillipskop.
Common Platanna (Xenopus laevis)
Platannas are distinctive large flattened frogs (6-10cm long) that spend nearly all their lives submerged in water. Their very broad webbed feet splay to each side and are well adapted for swimming. Often hidden by plants in the water, they are most easily spotted when they choose to sit on the bottom of our natural swimming pool. They make their buzzing calls underwater and so are rarely heard. The tadpoles are also unusual in that their bodies are almost transparent. The Cape Platanna is an endangered relative found in the fynbos pools of the southwestern Cape, which has dark stripes rather than mottled skin on its back.
Arum Lily Frog (Hyperolius horstockii)
Easily the most charismatic of our frogs, this pale-skinned small frog (up to 4cm long) has contrasting bright orange markings on its limbs and feet. Despite its name, it is not restricted to arum lilies but can be found clinging to reeds over ponds, both the Lily Pond and the one at the natural swimming pool. The best way to spot it is to go down to the Lily Pond at night with a bright torch and shine it along the reeds that line the edge of the water.
Spotted Painted Reed Frog (Hyperolius marmoratus subsp. verrucosus)
A very variable widespread species with a range of subspecies to classify the different forms. The form found in the Western Cape is a rather plain brown and is similar in size (up to 4cm) and shape to the Arum Lily Frog, so the two could be confused. The Painted Reed Frog has a more mottled and darker skin, with less pronounced orange colouration than the Arum Lily Frog. This species is more often heard calling from the reeds in the Klein River Valley below the reserve but occasionally a stray individual has made its way onto the reserve at night.
Cape Mountain Rain Frog (Breviceps montanus)
Rain frogs are true to their name as they call whenever the weather turns wet. They are the most peculiar of all frogs in their shape as their legs appear too short to carry their bloated bodies (up to 3cm long) around. The species is more often heard than seen, with the repeated loud single note call during and after rain showers. But they are very hard to locate as they stop calling as one approaches. Only occasionally is one lucky to find a frog waddling across the path.
Cape Sand Frog (Tomopterna delalandii)
This is another species more easily heard than seen. It has a remarkably loud call that sounds rather like a car alarm. It can be heard at night at certain times of the year in the pond around the natural swimming pool but so far we have not actually seen the frogs at Phillipskop (the photograph was taken in dunes near De Mond). The Cape Sand Frog is a medium-sized species up to 4.5cm long with a rounded body (but not as rounded as a rain frog) and pale warty skin. It is a lowland species but found in a variety of habitats throughout the Western Cape.
De Villiers’ Moss Frog (Arthroleptella villiersi)
A very small frog reaching only 22mm in length. This makes it incredibly hard to find them when tucked down in the undergrowth, usually in damp areas beside streams and seepages throughout the reserve. Along with their small size, moss frogs can be recognised by their warty skin but recognition of the species can only be done from their calls, genetics or knowing the locality. At Phillipskop, the only species is De Villiers’ Moss Frog, with its call of two chirps close to each other followed by a gap (sometimes hard to pick out if more than one frog is calling in the vicinity). The Klein River Mountains is also home to the very local endemic Drewes’ Moss Frog. This species is found to from the peak west of Phillipskop as far as Fernkloof above Hermanus but so far we have not heard it here. The call is a quicker series of 4-5 chirps.
Southern Dainty Frog (Cacosternum australis)
A very small frog (up to 18mm in length) similar to moss frogs but with less warty skin. As with the De Villiers’ Moss Frog, they are more often heard than seen and at Phillipskop are restricted to the lower slopes, especially near the natural swimming pool. The call is a short rapid series of hard clicks, like a metal ball being dropped on a hard surface. They are variable in colour with both brown and green forms being found here. Their underside is much paler and they have a pale side stripe running from their mouth to their forearm.
Montane Marsh Frog (Poyntonia paludicola)
The rarest of the frogs at Phillipskop, this species is endemic to the south-western Cape mountains and the eastern Klein River Mountains appears to be at the edge of its range. It is a dumpy rather dull-coloured frog with warty skin, similar but notably bigger (up to 30mm) than a moss frog. It is known from seepage and marshy areas on the upper slopes of the mountains. Its call is apparently a bit like a moss frog but harsher – we are still waiting to hear it!
