Breviceps mossambicus Peters, 1854
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Young Breviceps mossambicus from Mount Sheba, close to Pilgrims Rest in Mpumulanga, South Africa
WunderkindSA · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Mozambique rain frog (Breviceps mossambicus), also known as the flat-faced frog, is a species of frog in the family Brevicipitidae. It is found in Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and possibly Lesotho. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, moist savanna, temperate shrubland, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, temperate grassland, subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland, subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, arable land, pasture land and rural gardens.
Wikipedia contributors, Mozambique rain frog; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T15:33:21.205359+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Breviceps mossambicus Peters, 1854
- Name authority
- Peters, 1854
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Amphibia
- Order
- Anura
- Family
- Brevicipitidae
- Genus
- Breviceps
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAmphibia
- orderAnura
- familyBrevicipitidae Bonaparte, 1850
- genusBreviceps Merrem, 1820
- speciesBreviceps mossambicus Peters, 1854
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Breviceps. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Breviceps macrops Boulenger, 1907 | BrevicipitidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Breviceps acutirostris Poynton, 1963 | BrevicipitidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Breviceps adspersus Peters, 1882 | BrevicipitidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Breviceps branchi Channing, 2012 | BrevicipitidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Breviceps fuscus Hewitt, 1925 | BrevicipitidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Breviceps passmorei Minter, Netherlands & Du Preez, 2017 | BrevicipitidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Breviceps pentheri Werner, 1899 | BrevicipitidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Breviceps poweri Parker, 1934 | BrevicipitidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Breviceps rosei Power, 1926 | BrevicipitidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Breviceps sopranus Minter, 2003 | BrevicipitidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Breviceps sylvestris FitzSimons, 1930 | BrevicipitidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Systoma granosum (Cuvier, 1829) (Cuvier, 1829) | synonym |
| Breviceps mitchelli Hoffman, 1944 Hoffman, 1944 | synonym |
| Bufo granosus Cuvier, 1829 Cuvier, 1829 | synonym |
| Breviceps mossambicus mossambicus Peters, 1854 Peters, 1854 | synonym |
| Engystoma granosum Cuvier, 1829 Cuvier, 1829 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=664323 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:5X3H9. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.