There was a light drizzle, and it was misty too. We arrived in the afternoon, and conditions were perfect. We went to a site near the Ixopo area where he had heard and found this species before.
I was fortunate enough to join James Harvey recently, on some of his survey work. Most frogs lay their eggs in water, but the Mistbelt Chirping Frog lays its eggs in leaf-litter! What’s also interesting about this frog, is that they do not breed in water. This species was only discovered and described in 1993! That was probably because of its size, and its undistinctive call, a subtle, insect-like, chirping sound. Fortunately, it is being monitored by the likes of James and the Endangered Wildlife Trust. It still plays a role in a functioning environment. The few areas that are still home to this frog desperately need to be conserved, so that the world does not lose yet another species. Other threats include invasive alien plants, which take smother these grasslands, over-grazing, and incorrect burning programmes. These mostly fall under private land, owned by forestry companies. Even its habitat type is considered endangered! The last few remaining areas in which this frog occurs in, are rather fragmented by these plantations, isolating populations. Unfortunately for this frog, much of its habitat has been destroyed for exotic tree plantations. So it is not a widespread species at all. It only occurs in mistbelt areas in the KZN Midlands, in high altitude, moist grasslands. He had found a few new localities, which came as great news for this species. It was previously listed as Critically Endangered, before survey work was carried out by herpetologist and researcher, James Harvey. The Mistbelt Chirping Frog is currently listed as ‘Endangered’, by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It has a dark band on each side of its head. It’s a very pretty little frog, being a light golden brown colour, with speckles running down its back in a striped formation. It really is a tiny frog! Their maximum size is a measly 22mm. In the KZN Midlands lives a tiny little frog, which few people have seen, and most members of the public have never heard of: the Mistbelt Chirping Frog ( Anhydrophryne ngongoniensis).
– Article written by Nick Evans of KZN Amphibian and Reptile Conservation –
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