Afrixalus spinifrons (Cope, 1862)
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Natal banana frog (Afrixalus spinifrons) also known as the Natal Leaf-folding Frog is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae.
It is found in South Africa and possibly Lesotho.
Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, swamps, intermittent freshwater marshes, arable land, rural gardens, ponds, and canals and ditches.
It is threatened by habitat loss.
Wikipedia contributors, Natal banana frog; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T15:00:45.339090+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Afrixalus spinifrons (Cope, 1862)
- Name authority
- (Cope, 1862)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Amphibia
- Order
- Anura
- Family
- Hyperoliidae
- Genus
- Afrixalus
- 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
- familyHyperoliidae Laurent, 1943
- subfamilyHyperoliinae Laurent, 1943
- genusAfrixalus Laurent, 1944
- speciesAfrixalus spinifrons (Cope, 1862)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Afrixalus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Afrixalus fulvovittatus (Cope, 1861) | HyperoliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Afrixalus delicatus Pickersgill, 1984 | HyperoliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Afrixalus laevis (Ahl, 1930) | HyperoliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Afrixalus morerei Dubois, 1986 | HyperoliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Afrixalus schneideri (Boettger, 1889) | HyperoliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Afrixalus septentrionalis Schiøtz, 1974 | HyperoliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Afrixalus stuhlmanni (Pfeffer, 1893) | HyperoliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Afrixalus vittiger (Peters, 1876) | HyperoliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Afrixalus brachycnemis (Boulenger, 1896) | HyperoliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Afrixalus leucostictus Laurent, 1950 | HyperoliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Afrixalus fornasini (Bianconi, 1849) | HyperoliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Afrixalus lacteus Perret, 1976 | HyperoliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Hyperolius spinifrons Cope, 1862 Cope, 1862 | synonym |
| Megalixalus fornasinii spinifrons (Cope, 1862) (Cope, 1862) | synonym |
| Afrixalus spinifrons intermedius Pickersgill, 1996 Pickersgill, 1996 | synonym |
| Afrixalus spinifrons spinifrons (Cope, 1862) (Cope, 1862) | synonym |
| Megalixalus spinifrons (Cope, 1862) (Cope, 1862) | 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=663049 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:65G5Z. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.