About Poyntonia paludicola Channing & Boycott, 1989
Poyntonia paludicola resembles bufonids because of its stout body form and warty outward appearance. Adult individuals reach a body length of 27 to 30 mm, and females grow larger than males. The tympanum is not visible on this species. The fingers have slight webbing, while the toes are long and lack discs. Most of the frog's body is covered in warts. A raised mass of warty skin is present behind each of its eyes. Most individuals have a red-orange stripe running along the vertebra, and most also have a long white teardrop-shaped mark that extends from the bottom of the eye toward the top of the arm. The belly is pale, and often has unevenly distributed dark blotches. The male advertisement call of this species is made up of 1 to 6 brief, low-pitched chirps at a rate of roughly three chirps per second, and sounds like a unique coarse "kruck-kruck-kruck". Relative to the adult body size of the species, its eggs are fairly large. One clutch laid in September 2020 held 15 eggs, which were deposited at the edge of a seepage pool in 2 cm of muddy water. In terms of morphology and the relative size of eggs and larvae, Poyntonia paludicola shares many similarities with Capensibufo, a genus of small montane toads that uses similar habitat and occurs in sympatry with P. paludicola. Poyntonia paludicola lives in montane fynbos, a Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, in regions that receive high annual rainfall between 2,000 and 3,000 mm. Its elevational range extends from sea level up to 1800 meters above sea level. These frogs breed in shallow puddles connected to seepage areas, and these seepages often have some amount of water flow. Threats to the species' habitat include encroachment by alien vegetation, water abstraction, and disruption of natural fire regimes. Most populations of Poyntonia paludicola are found within protected areas, including the Kogelberg Biosphere Nature Reserve, Hottentots Holland Nature Reserve, and Fernkloof Nature Reserve.
