Red List of South African Species

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Least Concern (LC)
Assessors: IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group South African Frog Re-assessment Group (SA-FRoG)
Contributors: Alan Channing Alex Rebelo Andrew A Turner Atherton L de Villiers Francois Becker James Harvey Jeanne Tarrant John Measey Krystal A Tolley Leslie Minter Louis du Preez Marius Burger Michael Cunningham Ninda Baptista Rob Hopkins Sarah Davies Peter Conradie Yankho Chapeta
Facilitators: Alex Rebelo Elena Garollo John Measey Kelsey Neam
Reviewers: Jennifer Luedtke

Rationale (Changed due to New Information|Taxonomy)

Listed as Least Concern due to its overall wide distribution and presumed large population. However, certain sites where this species occurs, particularly coastal KwaZulu-Natal, are experiencing ongoing habitat transformation which may seriously impact on long-term population viability. Its area of occupancy (AOO) may therefore be prone to continuing decline and the species should therefore be carefully monitored. Furthermore, should the two subspecies be spilt in the future, this would have implications for conservation status. Since the taxa contained within this complex have different geographical ranges, and possibly differing ecological requirements, protection plans should be precisely defined in order to increase their impact on target populations.

Distribution

This species, which is endemic to South Africa, occurs as two subspecies: Afrixalus spinifrons spinifrons and A. s. intermedius. The nominate subspecies occurs at low to intermediate altitudes (below 700 m asl) in KwaZulu-Natal; the latter occurs at altitudes up to 1,500 m asl in western KwaZulu-Natal, between the midlands and foothills of the Drakensberg, and in the Eastern Cape Province. According to Pickersgill (2007), A. s. spinifrons and A. s. intermedius appear to intergrade on the escarpment at about 700 m asl. Tarrant (2012) showed that, according to molecular, acoustic and morphological analyses, the Eastern Cape subpopulations of this species should be referred to A. s. intermedius, instead of A. s. spinifrons as previously thought.

Population trend

Trend

This species is difficult to detect, but it is known to be doing well at some sites where it appears to be abundant. The southern Eastern Cape subpopulation is scarce and very difficult to detect (Venter and Conradie 2015, J. Tarrant pers. comm. August 2016) and this might be due to the fact that these subpopulations are on the edge of the species’ distribution. Subpopulations in Silaka Nature Reserve, near Port St. Johns in the Eastern Cape, occur in abundance (Venter and Conradie 2015), as do populations of Afrixalus spinifrons intermedius in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands (J. Tarrant pers. comm. August 2016). Coastal populations of A. s. spinifrons are less abundant (J. Tarrant pers. comm. August 2016).

Threats

Many of the historical sites of this once common species have disappeared under development (Pickersgill et al. 2004, Pickersgill 2007). Certain subpopulations, especially in coastal KwaZulu-Natal, are affected by loss of wetlands. This habitat loss is a result of urban and recreational development and direct drainage of wetlands for afforestation, especially Eucalyptus plantations and agricultural activities, including sugarcane (J. Tarrant pers. comm. August 2016). Other threats include pesticides and overgrazing or trampling by livestock. Coastal populations may be at higher risk than those inland due to heavier development pressure along the KZN coastline. Afrixalus spinifrons intermedius has been highlighted as having particular conservation significance for KwaZulu-Natal since it is endemic to the province (Armstrong 2001). 

Uses and trade

There are no records of this species being utilized.

Conservation

Conservation Actions
Although there are many threats to individual sites, the species as a whole is not considered to require conservation effort at this time. Afrixalus spinifrons intermedius occurs in the Khahlamba-Drakensberg National Park, Silaka Nature Reserve (Venter and Conradie 2015) and Hluleka Nature Reserve (Venter and Conradie 2015). Afrixalus s. spinifrons occurs in a number of coastal protected areas.

Research Needed
Additional molecular work is required to to clarify taxonomic boundaries. Because the ecological divergence and differences in geographical distribution between species of this complex could influence the relative conservation efforts, a clear description of their taxonomic status is necessary by way of various independent criteria. Monitoring of breeding sites is recommended.


References 

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