Amietia vandijki
Amietia vandijki (Visser and Channing, 1997)
- kingdom Animalia
- phylum Chordata
- class Amphibia
- order Anura
- family Pyxicephalidae Bonaparte, 1850
- Sub-Family Cacosterninae Noble, 1931
- genus Amietia Dubois, 1987
Original Published Description:
Afrana vandijki
Photographer: de Villiers, A.L. Submitted by: Bergmann, Travis Rights holder: de Villiers, A.L. (Atlas and Red Data of the Frogs of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland)
Afrana vandijki
Photographer: de Villiers, A.L. Submitted by: Bergmann, Travis Rights holder: de Villiers, A.L. (Atlas and Red Data of the Frogs of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland)
Overview
Distribution
A. vandijki occurs at medium to high altitudes in the Swartberg and Langeberg mountain ranges in the east of the Western Cape Province of South Africa (Text from Minter et al., 2004, © SI/MAB Biodiversity Program).
Rights holder(s): Channing, A. - Comment (0)
Description
Morphology
Visser and Channing (1997) describe this species as reaching a body length of 54 mm in males and 56 mm in females. A. vandijki may be distinguished from A. fuscigula by the presence of a large pale mark in the middle of the back, and a prominent skin fold running from the back of the eye to the arm, obscuring the upper or entire tympanum. In A. vandijki, 2–3 phalanges of the fourth toe are free of webbing, whereas in A. fuscigula only half to one phalanx is free of webbing (Text from Minter et al., 2004, © SI/MAB Biodiversity Program).
Rights holder(s): Channing, A. - Comment (0)
Ecology
Habitat and Ecology
Visser and Channing (1997) describe this species as inhabiting Mountain Fynbos that receives annual rainfall of 300–800 mm, mainly in winter. The frog is associated with rocky streams on steep, wellvegetated slopes and forested gorges (Text from Minter et al., 2004, © SI/MAB Biodiversity Program).
Rights holder(s): Channing, A. - Comment (0)
Associations
A. vandijki is superficially similar to the sympatric A. fuscigula, and the two species are known to breed in the same pools (Text from Minter et al., 2004, © SI/MAB Biodiversity Program).
Rights holder(s): Channing, A. - Comment (0)
Life History
Reproduction
Breeding habitat includes pools on the sides of streams, and deeper, slow-flowing water. Breeding takes place October–December, after good rain. Little is known of the species’ breeding biology (Text from Minter et al., 2004, © SI/MAB Biodiversity Program).
Rights holder(s): Channing, A. - Comment (0)
Advertisement Call
Channing (2001) recorded the call as biphasic, consisting of a series of 10–15 clicks uttered within 0.8 s, followed by a harsh, pulsed croak about 0.25 s in duration (Text from Minter et al., 2004, © SI/MAB Biodiversity Program).
Rights holder(s): Channing, A. - Comment (0)
Tadpole morphology
Channing (2001) found that the tadpoles reach about 55 mm in length. They are dark brown or velvety black with deep, dark fins and a paddle-like tail. The tadpoles are easily distinguished from those of A. fuscigula, which have only a small amount of pigment in their tails (Text from Minter et al., 2004, © SI/MAB Biodiversity Program).
Rights holder(s): Channing, A. - Comment (0)
Conservation
IUCN Red List Category and Justification of Conservation Status
Harrison et al. (2001) found that A. vandijki is classified as Data Deficient (Text from Minter et al., 2004, © SI/MAB Biodiversity Program).
Rights holder(s): Channing, A. - Comment (0)
Taxonomy
- Afrana vandijki Visser and Channing, 1997 (synonym)
- Amietia vandyki — Frost, Grant, Faivovich, Bain, Haas, Haddad, de Sá, Channing, Wilkinson, Donnellan, Raxworthy, Campbell, Blotto, Moler, Drewes, Nussbaum, Lynch, Green, and Wheeler, 2006 (synonym)
Common Names
Van Dijk's River Frog (English)