Xenopus laevis
Silhouette: Sarah Werning · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis), also known as simply xenopus, African clawed toad, African claw-toed frog or the platanna) is a species of African aquatic frog of the family Pipidae. Its name is derived from the short black claws on its feet. The word Xenopus means 'strange foot' and laevis means 'smooth'.
The species is found throughout much of Sub-Saharan Africa (Nigeria and Sudan to South Africa), and in isolated, introduced populations in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. All species of the family Pipidae are tongueless, toothless and completely aquatic. They use their hands to shove food in their mouths and down their throats and a hyobranchial pump to draw or suck things in their mouth. Pipidae have powerful legs for swimming and lunging after food. They also use the claws on their feet to tear pieces of large food. They have no external eardrums, but instead subcutaneous cartilaginous disks that serve the same function. They use their sensitive fingers and sense of smell to find food. Pipidae are scavengers and will eat almost anything living, dying, or dead and any type of organic waste.
It is considered an invasive species in several countries, including across Europe. Wikipedia →
Recording0:07
South Africa · 2022
© Oliver Angus · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording
Brazil · 1988
© M.S. Hoogmoed · Xeno · CC BY 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Namib-Naukluft National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 5 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | Channel Islands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 8 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harare | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 2 | Johannesburg | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Cape Town | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | Santiago | 🇨🇱 Chile | |
| 6 | Durban | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 7 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an African Clawed Frog sighting in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 70 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 10th most-seen of the 18 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 and August–March
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an African Clawed Frog in Table Mountain National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April and June–July, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most African Clawed Frog 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.
5th of 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate African Clawed Frog sightings, Table Mountain National Park ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in De Hoop Nature Reserve (South Africa, about 20%), Garden Route National Park (South Africa, about 10%) and iSimangaliso Wetland Park (South Africa, about 10%).
Same order: Anura
The closest relatives of the African Clawed Frog that you can see in Table Mountain National Park (order Anura, Frogs and Toads) are Western Leopard Toad (about 40%), Cape River Frog (about 40%) and Clicking Stream Frog (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the African Clawed Frog is recorded against all the amphibians logged in Table Mountain National Park (70 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.
