REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS
Giant girdled lizard, Cordylus giganteus
Currently classified as vulnerable this lizard species is endemic to the Highveld grasslands of South Africa. They are also known as sungazers because of their habit of sitting at their burrow entrances and facing the sun while thermo regulating. The giant girdled lizard is protected by spiny dorsal scales and four large occipital spines along the back of its head. The tail is equipped by coils of large spines and is flicked with force at predators that follow it into a burrow. Adults are 150 to 180 mm from the snout to the vent. The back is yellow to dark brown and the sides are yellow. Males are known by their enlarged scales called generation glands on the forelegs. Giant girdled lizards live in self-made burrows in the silty soil of the Themeda grassland. They are insectivores but sometimes will eat small vertebrates. They breed every two to three years, with one or two offspring per breeding cycle. The decline in numbers is because of habitat destruction (transformation of the grassland to farmland) and illegal collecting for the pet and traditional medicine trade.
Amatola toad, Vandijkophrynus amatolicus
Listed as endangered due to its isolation and fragmented habitat the Amatola toad are threatened by the loss of grassland through afforestation, overgrazing, and fires. It is restricted to the Winterberg and Amatola mountains in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa, after which it is named. The dorsum of the toad is evenly dark grey or olive-brown with a distinctive, pale, vertebral stripe. It has well-developed parotid glands and many small warts on its dorsal surface. The Amatola toad is small, with females reaching a maximum snout–vent length of 36 mm. This high-altitude species is found in moist grasslands between 1 400 and 1800 m above sea level, and is absent from forests and plantation areas bordering to these habitats. It can be found under rocks and logs, and in forest clearings. It breeds from October to December in shallow pools, and natural seeps on mountain slopes. Several hundred eggs are found in a single clutch. The eggs are well camouflaged as they blend in with the vegetation or muddy substrates.
Mistbelt chirping/Moss frog, Anhydrophryne ngongoniensis
Rapidly declining in number, this small frog is strongly associated with riparian zones, and grassland sites with very dense vegetation. Most sites from which it has been recorded are bordered by alien tree plantations. These frogs are sandy coloured with a brown upper surface with four vague darker brown stripes running down the back and spreading onto the limbs. A dark brown stripe with a thin silver-white border runs from the nose, through the eye and external eardrum to the underarm. The underbelly of the frog is evenly white, while the throat and limbs are pale yellow. The females grow up to 22 mm in length, larger than the males reaching 19 mm in length. The mistbelt frog is also known by its distinctive, quiet cricket-like call, repeated three or four times, with a short between calls. These frogs generally prefers steep slopes, close to natural seepages. Breeding occurs in decaying vegetation at the base grassy slopes in the mist belt. The eggs are laid on moist soil or foliage and develop without a larval stage. The habitat of this species is facing a rapid decline due to fires, invasive alien plants and habitat fragmentation.
Currently classified as vulnerable this lizard species is endemic to the Highveld grasslands of South Africa. They are also known as sungazers because of their habit of sitting at their burrow entrances and facing the sun while thermo regulating. The giant girdled lizard is protected by spiny dorsal scales and four large occipital spines along the back of its head. The tail is equipped by coils of large spines and is flicked with force at predators that follow it into a burrow. Adults are 150 to 180 mm from the snout to the vent. The back is yellow to dark brown and the sides are yellow. Males are known by their enlarged scales called generation glands on the forelegs. Giant girdled lizards live in self-made burrows in the silty soil of the Themeda grassland. They are insectivores but sometimes will eat small vertebrates. They breed every two to three years, with one or two offspring per breeding cycle. The decline in numbers is because of habitat destruction (transformation of the grassland to farmland) and illegal collecting for the pet and traditional medicine trade.
Amatola toad, Vandijkophrynus amatolicus
Listed as endangered due to its isolation and fragmented habitat the Amatola toad are threatened by the loss of grassland through afforestation, overgrazing, and fires. It is restricted to the Winterberg and Amatola mountains in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa, after which it is named. The dorsum of the toad is evenly dark grey or olive-brown with a distinctive, pale, vertebral stripe. It has well-developed parotid glands and many small warts on its dorsal surface. The Amatola toad is small, with females reaching a maximum snout–vent length of 36 mm. This high-altitude species is found in moist grasslands between 1 400 and 1800 m above sea level, and is absent from forests and plantation areas bordering to these habitats. It can be found under rocks and logs, and in forest clearings. It breeds from October to December in shallow pools, and natural seeps on mountain slopes. Several hundred eggs are found in a single clutch. The eggs are well camouflaged as they blend in with the vegetation or muddy substrates.
Mistbelt chirping/Moss frog, Anhydrophryne ngongoniensis
Rapidly declining in number, this small frog is strongly associated with riparian zones, and grassland sites with very dense vegetation. Most sites from which it has been recorded are bordered by alien tree plantations. These frogs are sandy coloured with a brown upper surface with four vague darker brown stripes running down the back and spreading onto the limbs. A dark brown stripe with a thin silver-white border runs from the nose, through the eye and external eardrum to the underarm. The underbelly of the frog is evenly white, while the throat and limbs are pale yellow. The females grow up to 22 mm in length, larger than the males reaching 19 mm in length. The mistbelt frog is also known by its distinctive, quiet cricket-like call, repeated three or four times, with a short between calls. These frogs generally prefers steep slopes, close to natural seepages. Breeding occurs in decaying vegetation at the base grassy slopes in the mist belt. The eggs are laid on moist soil or foliage and develop without a larval stage. The habitat of this species is facing a rapid decline due to fires, invasive alien plants and habitat fragmentation.