Snoring Puddle Frog

• It is probably the most abundant frog in Africa: it is present across almost the whole continent south of the Sahara and its choruses after the rains bring hundreds of males together in a single pool.
• It is a fundamental part of the savannah food web: snakes, birds, mongooses and fish depend in part on its seasonal abundance.
• Its tadpoles develop in three or four weeks, a race against the drying out of the temporary pools where they are born.
• It is one of the most abundant and widespread frogs in sub-Saharan Africa, and also one of the least conspicuous: brown, small and cryptic against the ground.
• Its call is a short, repeated snore, the source of the snoring in its English name.
• Its genus shows very marked pattern polymorphism: striped, mottled and plain individuals live side by side within a single population, a classic case studied since the 1970s.
• It breeds in ephemeral pools that dry out quickly, which forces its tadpoles to develop very fast.
• Its tolerance of disturbed environments has made it one of the few African frogs that benefit from human activity.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (amphibian)

Habitat and environment

Temporary pools, damp grassland and savannah of sub-Saharan Africa

Sexual maturity

12 months

Gestation / incubation

Larval development in shallow pools

Litter / clutch size

800 eggs

Sources consulted: Wikipedia (es): Phrynobatrachus natalensis

The pins mark the parks where its presence is documented.