Tomopterna delalandii
Silhouette: Dmitry Bogdanov (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Delalande's sand frog (Tomopterna delalandii), also known as Delalande's frog, Cape sand frog, or striped pixie, is a species of frog in the family Pyxicephalidae. It is endemic to western and southern South Africa and occurs in the low-lying areas of Namaqualand, Western Cape, and Eastern Cape as far east as Cape St. Francis.
The specific name delalandii honours Pierre Antoine Delalande, a French explorer and naturalist who collected in the Cape area in 1818. Tomopterna delalandii is a robust-bodied species with toad-like appearance and gait. Females can reach 50 mm (2.0 in) in snout–vent length. The head is broad and the eyes are large and bulging. The legs are relatively short. There are no finger or toe discs but the toes have some webbing. The upper parts vary in colouration from light grey to dark brown, usually with a mottled appearance and a pale patch between the shoulders. There is also usually a pale vertebral stripe, and often a pale stripe on either side of the body. Males have a dark throat.
The male advertisement call is a series of short ringing notes, with about 6–8 notes per second. The species occurs... Wikipedia →
Recording0:21
South Africa · 2024
© Nick Talbot · XC949376 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Recording0:04
South Africa · 2018
© Alex Rebelo · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:07
South Africa · 2022
© Oliver Angus · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Cape sand frog sighting in Addo Elephant National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 5th most-seen of the 8 amphibians we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May, July and December–January
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Cape sand frog in Addo Elephant National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February–April, June and August–November, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Cape sand frog sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
3rd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Cape sand frog sightings, Addo Elephant National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in De Hoop Nature Reserve (South Africa, about 20%) and Table Mountain National Park (South Africa, about 10%).
Same family: Pyxicephalidae
The closest relatives of the Cape sand frog that you can see in Addo Elephant National Park (family Pyxicephalidae, African Box-headed Frogs) are Striped Stream Frog (about 10%), Boettger's dainty frog (about 10%) and Dwarf Dainty Frog (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Cape sand frog is recorded against all the amphibians logged in Addo Elephant National Park (6 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
