Afrixalus fornasini
Silhouette: Jose Carlos Arenas-Monroy · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
Afrixalus fornasini is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae and is native to Africa. Its common name is Fornasini's spiny reed frog or the greater leaf-folding frog The specific epithet fornasini is in honour of Italian amateur naturalist Carlo Antonio Fornasini, who collected the type specimen.
It is found in Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, South Africa and possibly Eswatini. Its natural habitats are temperate forest, subtropical or tropical dry forest, dry savanna, moist savanna, temperate shrubland, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, temperate grassland, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, swamps, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, water storage areas, and ponds.
The species is threatened in some parts of its range by habitat loss, but in general it is not very rare, and in some places common. Both male and female Afrixalus fornasinii adults prey on grey foam-nest tree frog eggs and tadpoles. This species is the first African anuran to demonstrate hetero-cannibalism by preying on eggs belonging to the same family. Wikipedia →
Recording0:03
Tanzania · 2014
© probreviceps · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:24
South Africa · 2025
© Bruce Surmon · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:03
Malawi · 2024
© Tim Brammer · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Fornasini's Spiny Reed Frog sighting in Durban on a given day, based on 84 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 4th most-seen of the 13 amphibians we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February–May and October–November
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Fornasini's Spiny Reed Frog in Durban on a given day, against under 5% in July, the lowest month.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Fornasini's Spiny Reed Frog sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Fornasini's Spiny Reed Frog sightings, Durban ranks 2nd at about 20%. The best odds are in Maputo (Mozambique, about 40%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Fornasini's Spiny Reed Frog is recorded against all the amphibians logged in Durban (84 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.
