Impact of invasive exotic animals on native reptiles and amphibians -- African clawed frog

Shipped around the globe for use in human pregnancy testing during the 1940's and 1950's, extralimital populations of African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis) have been introduced into parts of Europe, North America, and South America, and into new areas in Africa. Although its impacts to native fauna have undergone little scrutiny, this voracious and prolific frog has shown a remarkable capacity to colonize a broad range of aquatic habitats. In Southern California, it occupies a more than 300 miles long range through seven counties, and there is some preliminary evidence it poses a threat to native amphibians and fishes there.

SOURCES

• Tinsley, R.C. and McCoid, M.J. 1996. Feral populations of Xenopus outside Africa. pp. 81-94. In: R.C. Tinsley and H.R. Kobel (Eds.). The Biology of Xenopus. Clarendon Press, Oxford.
• Lafferty, K. D. and Page, C. J. 1997. Predation on the endangered tidewater goby, Eucyclogobius newberryi, by the introduced African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis, with notes on the frog's parasites. Copeia 1997(3):589-592.
• Crayon, J.J. In prep. The impacts of African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis) introductions in California.