Poyntonophrynus vertebralis (Smith, 1848)
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
Poyntonophrynus vertebralis is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is found in South Africa, Lesotho, and possibly Botswana and southeastern Zimbabwe. It has many common names: pigmy toad, pygmy toad, flat toad, African dwarf toad, and southern pygmy toad.
Its natural habitats are Nama karroo shrubland, grassland, dry savanna, and pastureland. It is a locally common species that breeds in various small waterbodies (temporary shallow pans, pools or depressions containing rainwater, quarries, and rock pools along rivers). It is locally threatened by habitat loss.
Wikipedia contributors, Poyntonophrynus vertebralis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T17:55:19.066765+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Poyntonophrynus vertebralis (Smith, 1848)
- Name authority
- (Smith, 1848)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Amphibia
- Order
- Anura
- Family
- Bufonidae
- Genus
- Poyntonophrynus
- 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
- familyBufonidae Gray, 1825
- genusPoyntonophrynus Frost, Grant, Faivovich, Bain, Haas, Haddad, de Sá, Channing, Wilkinson, Donnellan et al., 2006
- speciesPoyntonophrynus vertebralis (Smith, 1848)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Poyntonophrynus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Poyntonophrynus hoeschi (Ahl, 1934) | BufonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Poyntonophrynus kavangensis (Poynton & Broadley, 1988) | BufonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Poyntonophrynus pachnodes Ceríaco, Marques, Bandeira, Agarwal, Stanley, Bauer, Heinicke & Blackburn, 2018 | BufonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Poyntonophrynus parkeri (Loveridge, 1932) | BufonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Poyntonophrynus fenoulheti (Hewitt & Methuen, 1912) | BufonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Poyntonophrynus fernandae Baptista, Vaz Pinto, Keates, Lobón-Rovira, Edwards & Rödel, 2023 | BufonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Poyntonophrynus grindleyi (Poynton, 1963) | BufonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Bufo vertebralis Smith, 1848 Smith, 1848 | synonym |
| Bufo vertebralis vertebralis Smith, 1848 Smith, 1848 | 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=773658 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:77VH7. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.