The advertisement call, breeding biology, description of the tadpole and taxonomic status of Bufo dombensis, a little-known dwarf toad from southern Africa

Abstract

Males of Bufo dombensis were observed calling late at night at Ongongo Waterfall in north-western Namibia. The analyzed advertisement calls differ distinctly from those of B. vertebralis, B. hoeschi and B. fenoulheti, indicating that all these taxa are separate valid species. Tadpoles raised from a breeding pair found at Ongongo showed the typical oral characters of southern African Bufo (1:1+1/3 keratodont formula, broad mental gap in oral papillae) but differed by some characters from tadpoles of other sympatric Bufo species.