African Split-skin Toad

African Split-skin Toad

Schismaderma carens

Silhouette: Jackson R Phillips · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Durban

In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%

25 Verified sightings at Durban
150 In all 7 parks From 2019 to 2026
November Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the African Split-skin Toad

The African red toad (Schismaderma carens), or African split-skin toad, is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is the only species of the monotypic genus Schismaderma. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and possibly Lesotho.

Its natural habitats are dry savanna, moist savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, arable land, pastureland, urban areas, water storage areas, ponds, canals and ditches, and man-made karsts.

The African red toad is a fairly large species with adults reaching about 90 millimetres (3.5 in) in snout-to-vent length, females being slightly larger than males. The upper surface is reddish-brown with a pair of dark brown spots on the shoulders and another pair on the lower back. There is a dorso-lateral ridge with glands running from the tympanum to the back leg, and the outer part of this ridge is darker on its lower edge. The flanks in some individuals are dark and in others... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Recording0:24

South Africa · 2023

© charldeacon88 · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0

Recording0:24

Zimbabwe · 2025

© i_c_riddell · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0

Recording0:17

South Africa · 2021

© Nick Helme · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Gorongosa National Park 🇲🇿 Mozambique
~40%
2 Gonarezhou National Park 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
~30%
3 uMkhuze Game Reserve 🇿🇦 South Africa
~20%
4 Pilanesberg National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~20%
5 Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~20%
6 iSimangaliso Wetland Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
7 Kruger National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Pretoria 🇿🇦 South Africa
~30%
2 Lusaka 🇿🇲 Zambia
~30%
3 Johannesburg 🇿🇦 South Africa
~20%
4 Harare 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
~20%
5 Durban 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Kolmården Wildlife Park 🇸🇪 Sweden In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing an African Split-skin Toad in Durban?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report an African Split-skin Toad sighting in Durban on a given day, based on 25 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 10th most-seen of the 13 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.

When is the best time to see an African Split-skin Toad in Durban?

January–April and August–November

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an African Split-skin Toad in Durban on a given day, against under 5% in May–July and December, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see an African Split-skin Toad?

Between 6 and 9 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most African Split-skin Toad sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.

Is Durban the best place to see an African Split-skin Toad?

5th of 5

Of the 5 cities where we can rate African Split-skin Toad sightings, Durban ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in Pretoria (South Africa, about 30%), Lusaka (Zambia, about 30%) and Johannesburg (South Africa, about 20%).

Where does the African Split-skin Toad sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the African Split-skin Toad is recorded against all the amphibians logged in Durban (25 verified sightings), 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.

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