Spotted snout-burrower

Hemisus guttatus

TAXONOMY

Hemisus guttatus Rapp, 1842, northeastern South Africa.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

English: Spotted shovel-nosed frog, spotted burrowing frog, eastern sharp-snouted frog.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

The female may reach 3 in (80 mm); this is the largest species of snout-burrower. The toes are not webbed, and the back pattern is quite distinct, with a number of yellow dots on a dark purple or brown background. The head is pointed and small, with very small eyes. The snout tip is hard and used for burrowing. The arms are muscular, and the fingers are thick and strong.

DISTRIBUTION

Recorded from the KwaZulu Natal lowlands between Hluhluwe and Durban through the interior of South Africa.

HABITAT

Areas of flat, sandy soil that flood during the rains.

BEHAVIOR

Active after dark, when they feed and breed.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Eats burrowing prey, such as earthworms, also takes insects that are active on the surface at night.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

The advertisement call is a long, high-pitched buzz. Eggs are laid in chambers that are 5.9 in (15 cm) below the surface. Each clutch consists of some 200 eggs. Each egg is 0.10 in (2.5 mm) in diameter within a 0.16-in (4-mm) jelly capsule. The eggs are protected by a few top layers of empty jelly capsules.

CONSERVATION STATUS

The species is not directly threatened, although parts of the coastal habitat are threatened by development.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

None known.