Frogs Of Venda

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This cover is postmarked on 26 November 1982 in Vuwani, with a special postmark depicting a frog. It carries the Venda frogs set, SAPO [number to confirm], four stamps showing the common rana, foam nest frog, brown-backed tree frog and plain grass frog, with the painted reed frog featured separately on the cachet itself. The foam nest frog pictured on the 15c stamp has a particularly striking breeding habit, building its nest as a mass of foam attached to a branch overhanging water, where the tadpoles develop for four or five days before dropping directly into the water below to continue their growth. The illustrations for this set were originally drawn for the 1979 book South African Frogs by N.I. Passmore and V.C. Carruthers.

Description of the Cachet

The cachet is a detailed illustration of a striped reed frog perched on a green leaf blade, its body banded in bold black and golden yellow stripes running the length of its back and legs. The frog's large dark eye and delicate limbs are rendered with careful naturalistic shading, giving the illustration a lifelike, almost photographic quality against the plain cream background. Below, the Latin name "Hyperolius marmoratus taeniatus" appears in elegant script.

Information Card

8c stamp Rana angolensis Common rana The common rana is found throughout Venda at permanent water bodies. This species has long, powerful hind legs and can jump considerable distances. The colour varies from brown to greenish-brown with scattered dark spots. They are preyed upon by water-birds, leguans, young crocodiles and fish. 15c stamp Chiromantis xerampelina Foam nest frog The foam nest frog occurs throughout most parts of Venda and, being arboreal, is almost always found in trees or other suitable elevated positions above water during the breeding season. The eggs are laid in a foam nest attached to a branch overhanging the water. After four or five days development inside the nest, the tadpoles drop out into the water to continue their metamorphosis. Ch. xerampelina is a slender frog with long, spindley legs. The large, round suckers on the end of the digits, as well as the aposing thumb, which forms a clasping hand, are special adaptations towards an arboreal life. This frog can camouflage itself extremely well because it is capable of remarkable colour changes, from grey with mottled brown markings to white. 20c stamp Leptopelis sp. Brown-backed tree frog The brown-backed tree frog occurs near watercourses in semi-tropical bushveld and savannah areas in Eastern Venda. This species has terminal discs on the digits, an adaptation for climbing. They are also adept burrowers, using the enlarged tubercle on the heel for burrowing backwards into the soil. They only emerge at night, when the males call from elevated positions in the trees. Leptopelis sp. sits straight up in a characteristic pose with the head bent forward. 25c stamp Ptychadena anchietae Plain grass frog This species can be very common in certain places, usually near a pan, where a number of frogs calling at the same time produce a shrill chorus, sometimes during broad daylight. Breeding takes place in the shallow water of vleis and flooded grassland. The eggs are laid singly, floating on the water, but soon sink, particularly if the water is disturbed. Commemorative cover: Hyperolius marmoratus taeniatus Painted reed frog These brightly coloured little frogs are found throughout Venda in large numbers in pans, pools and marshes with an abundance of reeds or sedges. At night they call from elevated positions amongst the reeds to create a penetrating chorus. They have suckerlike terminal discs on the fingers and toes, making them expert climbers even on very smooth surfaces. The original illustrations of these frogs appeared in South African Frogs by N.I. Passmore and V.C. Carruthers, copyright Witwatersrand University Press, Johannesburg, 1979.

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