Cacosternum karooicum Boycott, de Villiers & Scott, 2002
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.

A female from the type locality, Vrolijkheid Nature Reserve near McGregor, Western Cape.
FrogWRLD · 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 Karoo dainty frog (Cacosternum karooicum) is a species of frog in the family Pyxicephalidae.
It is endemic to South Africa.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, intermittent rivers, intermittent freshwater marshes, rocky areas, and ponds.
Wikipedia contributors, Karoo dainty frog; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T15:35:37.329545+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Cacosternum karooicum Boycott, de Villiers & Scott, 2002
- Name authority
- Boycott, de Villiers & Scott, 2002
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Amphibia
- Order
- Anura
- Family
- Pyxicephalidae
- Genus
- Cacosternum
- 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
- familyPyxicephalidae Bonaparte, 1850
- subfamilyCacosterninae Noble, 1931
- genusCacosternum Boulenger, 1887
- speciesCacosternum karooicum Boycott, de Villiers & Scott, 2002
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Cacosternum. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Cacosternum aggestum Channing, Schmitz, Burger & Kielgast, 2013 | PyxicephalidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cacosternum boettgeri (Boulenger, 1882) | PyxicephalidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cacosternum capense Hewitt, 1925 | PyxicephalidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cacosternum leleupi Laurent, 1950 | PyxicephalidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cacosternum nanogularum Channing, Schmitz, Burger & Kielgast, 2013 | PyxicephalidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cacosternum platys Rose, 1950 | PyxicephalidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cacosternum striatum FitzSimons, 1947 | PyxicephalidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cacosternum cederbergense Angus, Telford, Ping & Conradie, 2024 | PyxicephalidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
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=664750 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:P6MR. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.