Distribution and conservation status of the desert rain frog Breviceps macrops

Abstract

The desert rain frog, Breviceps macrops, is found along the greater Namaqualand coast, an area of acute conservation concern. We reconstruct the distribution of this species from museum specimens to the north and quantitative surveys in the south. In addition, a small (0.6 ha) study site near McDougall's Bay was searched on eight visits, each between two and seven nights long, between October 2002 and September 2007. The unique dorsal patterns of frogs were used as ‘marks’. Recaptured animals moved between 0 and 380 m (mean±SD = 29±73 m, n=26). The highest counts in September 2006 of 66 adults and 39 juveniles show the population at a density of 110 adults ha⁻¹. Voucher specimens held in museum collections were examined, and demonstrate the northernmost locality in Lüderitz, Namibia, with all 11 localities in white sandy habitat where coastal fog exceeds 100 days per year. The most southerly record from active searches was just south of Kleinzee in South Africa. A new threat to this species is housing development in prime coastal sand dunes.