Genus Xenopus
Known in the rest of the world as the African Clawed Frog, there are three kinds of Platannas found in South Africa:
- Xenopus gilli, the Cape Platanna, which occurs only in a narrow strip along the coast from Cape Town to Cape Agulhas. It is considered to be critically endangered due to habitat loss and fragmentation of their population. Grows to about 6cm long.
- Xenopus muelleri, the Tropical Platanna, which occurs in extreme northern Kwazulu-Natal and the Lowveld of Mpumalanga and Limpopo, extending further as far as southern Kenya. Measures around 9cm in length.
- Xenopus laevis, the Common Platanna, found over most of South Africa and our neighbouring states. Can grow to almost 15cm in length.
Platannas are almost entirely aquatic amphibians that will only leave the water to migrate to new water bodies, which usually happens during rainy periods or when their current abode dries out (and in the latter instance they might just as easily dig themselves into the mud to aestivate until the water returns). They’re commonly found in almost every fresh water habitat, whether natural or man-made. Platannas are carnivores that feed on a wide variety of aquatic creatures ranging in size from zooplankton to fishes and even their own young. Unlike other frogs they don’t have long, sticky tongues but will use their hands and fingers to hold onto food and push it into their mouths.
Platannas breed at the start of the rainy season, when the male holds onto the back of the female – a position known as amplexus – and the couple then swims around their pond to deposit several hundred eggs singly on solid objects. The tadpoles hatch within two days and metamorphose quickly, being capable of fully transforming into adult form within 2 to 4 months of hatching depending on temperatures and food supply. Platannas are a favourite food item for many kinds of large fish, reptiles, birds and mammals but may live to 15 years old in the wild.
Between the 1930s and 1960s Platannas were used in crude but reliable pregnancy tests, as the females will start laying eggs within hours of being injected under the skin with the urine of a pregnant woman. They’re still widely used in experiments and biological studies, and this is likely the method by which they’ve become exotic invaders in many places of the world beyond their natural distribution in Sub-Saharan Africa.
DeWetsWild 
I was too late to save a platanna a few months ago and it drowned in my pool. Now there is another one that i took out about an hour ago but it is back in the pool. Should i take it further away so it can’t get back. I’m in a residential area and there is no other wet areas nearby.
If there’s no natural water in your area the platannas are probably coming from someone’s garden pond near to you, Trevor. They’re almost entirely aquatic and therefore will continue to try and get back to the water (pool). It won’t drown in your pool but will rather die due to being poisoned by the chemicals. I suggest if you have a WhatsApp group for your neighbourhood that you ask if someone has a garden pond where you can take the platanna to.
Hierdie was nou baie interessant, De Wet. Al gril ek ietwat vir n platanna!
Selfs die lelikste ou diertjies het interessante maniertjies! 😀
Jy weet wat ek gaan se: Grillerig!!
Lyk my die ou Platanna het nie baie fans nie!
😀
Ek hou regtig nie van paddas nie! Lanklaas ‘n platanna gesien!
Marilize sal met jou saamstem, Aletta. Ek nou weer hou regtig daarvan om hulle te soek en te sien!
🤔😃
Interesting! I always enjoy your descriptions.
Thank you very much, John!
Fascinating creature and remarkable behavior as a “pregnancy test” – amazing!! They look like they’d be a succulent meal for lots of other creatures. Who are their main predators?
Almost anything in Africa that hunts in the water loves eating Platannas! Birds like storks, kingfishers and herons, mammals like otters, reptiles like crocodiles, monitor lizards and water snakes, and fish (which explains why Platannas are often used as bait)
Gril ek nou. Gelukkig het ek nooit so ‘n padda regtig gesien nie. Hoekom is dit “plat anna’s”?
Ek weet regtig nie waar die naam vandaan kom nie, Ineke, en ek kon ook nerens iets opspoor met Google daaroor nie – maar dis nie n vreeslik vleiende naam nie, ne?
Stem saam nie baie vleiend nie.
Ah Dries, these pictures take me back to my youth in the Eastern Transvaal where Common Platannas were, well, common!
I even had a couple of Platannas as pets in a fish tank once!