View the above photo record (by Vaughan Jessnitz) in FrogMAP here.
Find the Russet-backed Sand Frog in the FBIS database (Freshwater Biodiversity Information System) here.
Family Pyxicephalidae
RUSSET-BACKED SAND FROG – Tomopterna marmorata
(Peters, 1854)
Habitat
In the atlas region, T. marmorata inhabits a range of bushveld vegetation types in the Savanna Biome. It seems to prefer sandy soil and occurs in areas where annual rainfall is 500–1000 mm. It breeds in slow-flowing rivers and streams as well as isolated pools, pans or dams with sandy substrates.
Behaviour
T. marmorata adults have been found buried in sandbanks during the dry season. They emerge after the first rains and begin breeding as soon as bodies of standing or running water have formed. Males call from open areas on sandbanks, near the edge of the water. Amplexus is axillary, and the eggs are laid in shallow water (L.R. Minter pers. comm.). The eggs are laid singly, and a clutch size of 150 eggs has been recorded (Channing 2001). No further life history details are known.
Photo by Robert Tibbitt-Eggleton
Status and Conservation
This is a widespread and common species, but see remarks under Distribution. No conservation action appears to be necessary.
Distribution
North of the atlas region, T. marmorata ranges from Botswana eastward through Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe to southern Mozambique. Within the atlas region, the species is fairly widespread in Limpopo Province and eastern Mpumalanga at altitudes <1000 m. An historical record from Ndumo Game Reserve in northern KwaZulu-Natal (Poynton 1964) requires confirmation, as the original specimens have been lost (Lambiris 1989a).
The distribution map is incomplete and the distribution data presented here should be viewed with circumspection. The description of additional cryptic species (unpubl. data) will necessitate a re-examination of the distribution of T. marmorata, using distribution records based on calls.
Further Resources
Virtual Museum (FrogMAP > Search VM > By Scientific or Common Name)
More common names: Marbled Sand Frog, Marmorate Pyxie, Mozambique Dwarf Bullfrog (Alternative English Names); Rooirug-sandpadda (Afrikaans)
Recommended citation format for this species text:
Channing A, Tippett RM. Russet-backed Sand Frog Tomopterna marmorata. BDI, Cape Town.
Available online at http://thebdi.org/2022/02/23/russet-backed-sand-frog-tomopterna-marmorata/
Recommended citation format:
This species text has been updated and expanded from the text in the
2004 frog atlas. The reference to the text and the book are as follows:
Channing A 2004 Tomopterna marmorata Russet-backed Sand Frog. In Minter LR
et al 2004.
Minter LR, Burger M, Harrison JA, Braack HH, Bishop PJ, Kloepfer D (eds)
2004. Atlas and Red Data Book of the Frogs of South Africa, Lesotho and
Swaziland. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, and Avian Demography
Unit, Cape Town.
