Poyntonia paludicola Channing and Boycott, 1989
Harrison et al. (2001) assigned P. paludicola to the category Near Threatened (Text from Minter et al., 2004, © SI/MAB Biodiversity Program).
Present and potential threats include habitat modification by too frequent fires, altered drainage, damming, and the loss of fynbos to agriculture, particularly tree plantations. Habitat fragmentation also poses a significant threat (Text from Minter et al., 2004, © SI/MAB Biodiversity Program).
This species has very granular skin. Behind the eye there is a raised glandular area that resembles the parotoid gland in toads, and a glandular ridge runs from the top of the head to the angle of the jaw. The dorsum is grey-brown, often with a pale vertebral stripe. One to three pale stripes run from the lower margin of the eye to the upper lip. These frogs are beautifully camouflaged when among the mosses that are typical of their habitat (Text from Minter et al., 2004, © SI/MAB Biodiversity Program).
This species may be confused with the moss frogs, Arthroleptella, that are found in the same habitat (Text from Minter et al., 2004, © SI/MAB Biodiversity Program).
P. paludicola is endemic to the Cape fold mountains of the southwestern Western Cape Province (Text from Minter et al., 2004, © SI/MAB Biodiversity Program).
This species inhabits marshy areas, shallow seepage zones and shallow streams along rock outcrops in Mountain Fynbos. It is known from all altitudes between 200 and 1800 m wherever suitable habitat is present. The rainfall in these areas exceeds 2000 mm p.a., and falls mainly in winter (Text from Minter et al., 2004, © SI/MAB Biodiversity Program).
Once sufficient rain has fallen to produce shallow flooded areas, the males start to call. Calling may occur at any time of year in suitable weather conditions, but usually takes place from late summer to late winter. Males call from the edge of shallow water and from beneath vegetation in seepage areas (Channing and Boycott 1989). The advertisement call is a harsh chirp, unlike the high-pitched calls of Arthroleptella (Text from Minter et al., 2004, © SI/MAB Biodiversity Program).