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The Guttural Toad, Sclerophrys gutturalis, has three established invasive populations on Mauritius, Reunion and in Constantia, a peri-urban area of Cape Town, South Africa. The native range of this toad covers much of central and southern Africa. Here we use mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to sample across the range of the natural distribution (from Kenya to South Africa) and compare ND2 and 16S sequences to those from animals sampled from each of the three invasive populations. We show that all invasive populations refer to the same mtDNA clade, which is naturally distributed in north-eastern South Africa, but not from adjoining Mozambique or southernmost Eastern Cape areas. Our findings corroborate previous reports of deliberate introductions from South Africa to Mauritius, and from Mauritius to Reunion. Similarly, our results suggest a single accidental translocation within South Africa from the northeast to Constantia. Our findings highlight the combination of anthropophilic behavior, and extreme long-distance dispersal occurring with accidental translocation for this species. We caution that accidental pathways are likely to continue into the future, with increasing numbers of invasive populations of this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Delalande's Sand Frog extends from St Francis Bay in the east, to Cape Town in the West, and Springbok in the north of South Africa. A phylogeny of the genus shows that the extreme northern population does not cluster with those elsewhere. This population differs by advertisement call, 16S rRNA sequence and consistent differences in adult morphology from the southern form. Haplotype networks of mitochondrial and nuclear genes show that the northern populations are distinct from Tomopterna delalandii and all other described taxa, and represent a new species. We are happy to name the new Namaqua Sand Frog for Bill Branch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the unusual pattern of evolution of the moss frogs, under the genus Arthroleptella, which complicates the species' conservation management. The species general pattern of allopatry, spatial arrangement of genetic distribution and restricted gene flow are briefly described. However, it cites that the distribution and phylogenetic information it has retrieved from the study can be used in the identification of species and area of conservation priority.