Pyxicephalus adspersus Tschudi, 1838
Pyxicephalus adspersus Tschudi, 1838, Classif. Batr.: 46, 84. Syntypes: MNHNP 4525 and 4527 (8 specimens total) (according to Guibé, 1950 "1948", Cat. Types Amph. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat.: 40) and RMNH 2258 (2 specimens), according to Gassó Miracle, van den Hoek Ostende, and Arntzen, 2007, Zootaxa, 1482: 53. Type locality: "Promontorium Bonae Spei" (=Cape of Good Hope, Rep. South Africa).
Bombinator adspersus Tschudi, 1838, Classif. Batr.: 84. Name proposed as an objective synonym of Pyxicephalus adspersus to reference jar label names of syntypes in the RMNH and MNHNP.
Tomopterna adspersa — Duméril and Bibron, 1841, Erp. Gen., 8: 444. Günther, 1859 "1858", Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus.: 7.
Pyxicephalus adspersus — Duméril and Bibron, 1841, Erp. Gen., 8: 444. Werner, 1910, Denkschr. Med. Naturwiss. Ges. Jena, 16: 298; FitzSimons, 1930, Ann. Transvaal Mus., 14: 41.
Rana adspersa — Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 33. Boulenger, 1907, Mem. Proc. Manchester Lit. Philos. Soc., 51: 5.
Rana (Pyxicephalus) adspersus — Monard, 1937 "1936", Bull. Soc. Neuchatel. Sci. Nat., 62: 46.
Rana (Pyxicephalus) adspersa — Guibé, 1950 "1948", Cat. Types Amph. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat.: 40. Mertens, 1971, Abh. Senckenb. Naturforsch. Ges., 529: 7; Dubois, 1981, Monit. Zool. Ital., N.S., Suppl., 15: 233; by implication.
Rana adspersa adspersa — Loveridge, 1950, J. E. Afr. Nat. Hist. Soc., 19: 253. Mertens, 1955, Abh. Senckenb. Naturforsch. Ges., 490: 28.
Rana (Pyxicephalus) adspersa — Mertens, 1971, Abh. Senckenb. Naturforsch. Ges., 529: 71.
Rana (Pyxicephalus) adspersa adspersa — Dubois, 1981, Monit. Zool. Ital., N.S., Suppl., 15: 233. by implication.
Pyxicephalus adspersus adspersus — Parry, 1982, Ann. Natal Mus., 25: 289. Dubois, 1987 "1986", Alytes, 5: 66; by implication.
English Names
Bullfrog (Hewitt, 1937, Guide Vert. Fauna E. Cape Province, Rept. Amph. Fishes: 91; Rose, 1950, Rep. Amph. S. Afr.: 46; Wager, 1965, Frogs S. Afr.: 130; Broadley, 1973, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 10: 23; Van Dijk, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 17: 15; Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 4; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 114).
South African Speckled Frog (Cochran, 1961, Living Amph. World: 153).
Giant Pyxie (Wager, 1965, Frogs S. Afr.: 130; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 114).
African Bullfrog (Wood, 1863, Illust. Nat. Hist., 3: 153; Broadley, 1971, Puku, 6: 112; Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 4; Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 346; Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 319).
Giant Pyxie (Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 4).
Giant Bullfrog (Lambiris, 1990 "1989", Monogr. Mus. Reg. Sci. Nat. Torino, 10: 78; Du Preez and Cook, 2004, in Minter et al. (eds.), Atlas Frogs S. Afr. Lesotho and Swaziland: 300; Du Preez and Carruthers, 2009, Compl. Guide Frogs S. Afr.: 414).
Highveld Bullfrog (Du Preez and Cook, 2004, in Minter et al. (eds.), Atlas Frogs S. Afr. Lesotho and Swaziland: 300 [alternative name]).
Tschudi's African Bullfrog (Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 106).
Distribution
Dry savannas of inland Rep. South Africa from central Eastern Cape Province, northern KwaZulu-Natal, western Lesotho, and Swaziland north through eastern Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and western Mozambique and Malawi to southern Angola, Zambia, Tanzania and Kenya; likely to be found in southern Dem. Rep. Congo.
Comment
Species limits revised by Channing, Du Preez, and Passmore, 1994, J. Zool., London, 234: 141-148, who summarized previous confusions and the poorly understood distribution. See comment under Pyxicephalus edulis. Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.; 346-348, Du Preez and Cook, 2004, in Minter et al. (eds.), Atlas Frogs S. Afr. Lesotho and Swaziland: 300-303, Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 319-322, and Pickersgill, 2007, Frog Search: 103-104 (who discussed a possibly cryptic species on page 104-106, provided accounts. Bates and Haacke, 2003, Navors. Nas. Mus. Bloemfontein, 19: 124, discussed the species in Lesotho. Mercurio, 2011, Amph. Malawi: 288-290, provided an account for Malawi.
External Links
Please note: these links will take you to external websites not affiliated with the American Museum of Natural History. We are not responsible for their content.
- For additional sources of information from other sites search Google
- For images search Arkive, CalPhoto Images and Google Images
- To search the NIH genetic sequence database, see GenBank
- For information aggregation from other sites and some original accounts see AmphibiaWeb report
- For further information on conservation status and distribution see the IUCN Redlist
- For related information on conservation and images as well as observation see iNaturalist;
- for a quick link to their maps see iNaturalist KML
- For access to informatoin on fossils see Lisanfos
