Chiromantis xerampelina
Silhouette: Jose Carlos Arenas-Monroy · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The grey foam-nest tree frog (Chiromantis xerampelina), or southern foam-nest tree frog, is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. They are found in southern Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, dry savanna, moist savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, intermittent freshwater marshes, arable land, pastureland, rural gardens, urban areas, heavily degraded former forests, ponds, and canals and ditches.
Grey foam-nest tree frogs are known for simultaneous polyandry, where female frogs have multiple mates on separate territories that guard the eggs and care for young. This behavior is owed to their external fertilization mechanism. During the mating process, the female frog produces a foam nest, typically on branches that hang above bodies of water, in order to keep her eggs moist as they develop. This practice is what gives the grey foam-nest tree frogs their name.
Grey foam-nest tree frogs are arboreal. Like other species in the genus Chiromantis, they have discs on their toes, and their outer two fingers are widely spaced and nearly at a right angle... Wikipedia →
Recording0:09
South Africa · 2022
© Jacob Dirsuwei · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:12
South Africa · 2020
© Sascha Schumann · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:10
Mozambique · 2009
© probreviceps · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | South Luangwa National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 3 | Liwonde National Park | 🇲🇼 Malawi | |
| 4 | Gorongosa National Park | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | |
| 5 | Mana Pools National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 6 | Lower Zambezi National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 7 | Kafue National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 8 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 9 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 10 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 11 | Hwange National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 12 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 13 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 14 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Grey Foam-nest Treefrog sighting in iSimangaliso Wetland Park on a given day, based on 34 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 11th most-seen of the 22 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.
March
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Grey Foam-nest Treefrog in iSimangaliso Wetland Park on a given day, against under 5% in August and October, the lowest months. That is one of iSimangaliso Wetland Park's wettest months, with about 100 mm of rain against 30 mm in July.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Grey Foam-nest Treefrog sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
12th of 14
Of the 14 parks where we can rate Grey Foam-nest Treefrog sightings, iSimangaliso Wetland Park ranks 12th at about 20%. The best odds are in uMkhuze Game Reserve (South Africa, about 60%), South Luangwa National Park (Zambia, about 50%) and Liwonde National Park (Malawi, about 50%). All parks ranked.
Same order: Anura
The closest relatives of the Grey Foam-nest Treefrog that you can see in iSimangaliso Wetland Park (order Anura, Frogs and Toads) are Painted Reed Frog (about 50%), Tinker Reed Frog (about 40%) and Natal Forest Tree Frog (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Grey Foam-nest Treefrog is recorded against all the amphibians logged in iSimangaliso Wetland Park (34 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.
