Frogs in South Africa

[Nick Evans]

Thanks, glad you like the photos.

[BugBoy99]

Hello Nick, and welcome

I like your photos. I've tried the whole photography thing myself, but I'm more interested in the rearing of amphibians.

I don't know if you are interested in crabs, but the crab eating your Kassina, is a species of Potamonautes(African Freshwater Crab), probably P. warreni.

Sincerely,
Joh

[Nick Evans]

Hi Joh

Thanks a lot! Are there many different species of freshwater crabs in KZN?

[exasperatus2002]

Great pics! I used to own Kassina maculata. Its a nice frog. chocolate brown with black circles and orange-red on the legs.

[GrifTheGreat]

Wow!!! Gorgeous photos!!! I wish I could do more field work like that. It never fails to amaze me how many beautiful species of Frogs and Toads that are out there in different countries. Thank you for sharing!!

[BugBoy99]

Hi Nick, I believe that there are 8 species of Potamonautes in SA. Not sure, but it is somewhere between 8 and 12 species. However, P. warreni and P. sidneyi are most common in KZN, and P. sidneyi has a white stripe over its carapace, so I'm guessing that it is a P. warreni. This is an interesting genus of crabs, because it fills the niche that is filled by crayfish in the New World, and it is also the only genus of freshwater crab found in South Africa.

[Nick Evans]

Thanks

I saw Kassina maculata recently, unfortunately I didn't get a photo!

Joh, I'll look a bit more carefully when I see a crab now, and try to identify it!

[BugBoy99]

Please do! Whereabouts in KZN are you located? You might live close by.

[Nick Evans]

I live in Durban. I see you're in Northern KZN, lot's of frogs there! Most of the frog photos I posted were in Hluhluwe, on a game farm called Hakuna Matata. Great spot.

[BugBoy99]

Oh, I've never actually been to Hluhluwe, but I hear that its quite interesting. Most of my frog and toad tads, are just caught in random places with lots of water. There's a nice little stream nearby, and then the opportunistic breeders breed in the puddles. I caught some Ptychadena tads in a puddle just the other day.

Thanks for the photos, I hope you feel very welcome here, and become a regular contributor in our frogging community.

[exasperatus2002]

Thanks

I saw Kassina maculata recently, unfortunately I didn't get a photo!

Joh, I'll look a bit more carefully when I see a crab now, and try to identify it!

Can you post a pic of K. maculata's typical habitat? Im curious. Mine was healthy and well fed. But when I got him back in the mid 90's, I didnt know anything of its natural habitat.

[Nick Evans]

Here's a photo of the habitat where I found a couple of K.maculata.