Cover photo by Felicity Grundlingh.
Find the Flat Caco in the FBIS database (Freshwater Biodiversity Information System) here.
Family Pyxicephalidae
Identification
The Flat Caco is a small species that attains a maximum length of 22mm. The head is narrow and the body is broad. The limbs are relatively long and thin. The upperside colouration varies from grey or brown to green, frequently with dark blotches or stripes. A pale vertebral line is sometimes present. A blackish band is present from the eye to the base of the arm, while a paler band sits below this that extends from mid-snout to the arm base. The undersides are smooth and pale with faded-looking greyish-black spots.
The Flat Caco was formerly synonymised with the Common Caco Cacosternum boettgeri (Poynton, 1964), however, the two have different advertisement calls and a marked mtDNA sequence divergence.
Habitat
The Flat Caco is known to inhabit flooded grassland, marshes and seepages.
Behaviour
Very little is known about the life history of the Flat Caco. Its habits are likely to be similar to those of others in the genus.
Status and Conservation
Cacosternum platys is not threatened and is listed as of Least Concern in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Distribution
The Flat Caco is endemic to the Western Cape, South Africa.
Further Resources
The use of photographs by Felicity Grundlingh is acknowledged.
Flat Caco Cacosternum platys Rose, 1950
Other Common Names: Platblikslanertjie (Afrikaans)
Recommended citation format: Tippett, RM. (2025). Flat Caco Cacosternum platys. Biodiversity and Development Institute, Cape Town. Available online at https://thebdi.org/2022/02/18/flat-caco-cacosternum-platys/
References:
Minter, LR; Burger, M; Harrison, JA; Braack, HH; Bishop, PJ; Kloepfer, D. (Editors). (2004). Atlas and Red Data Book of the Frogs of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, and Avian Demography
Unit, Cape Town.
Carruthers, V; du Preez, L. (2017). Frogs of southern Africa: A Complete Guide. Struik Nature, Cape Town.
Channing, A. (2001) Amphibians of Central and Southern Africa. Protea Book House, Pretoria
