The Two Oceans Aquarium was the perfect venue for the launch of A Complete Guide to the Frogs of Southern Africa by Vincent Carruthers and Louis du Preez on a blustery winter’s evening last Friday. Stephen Johnson, CEO of Random House Struik, said it was a long time since he’d seen jaded and world-weary publishing professionals “screaming like school girls” – as was the case when the advance copies of this book appeared at the RHS offices!
Prof Brain Huntley, the founder and former chairman of the Southern African Botanical Diversity Network (SABONET) said that about 50 years ago he had found himself on a dark, misty night participating in a wild life field excursion. Soon enough, he was falling about in a freezing river trying to catch mystery frogs. This taught him “not to mess with herpetologists” and decided his career in the path of the botanical sciences instead.
He spoke in earnest about the destruction of the natural habitat that had already resulted in the loss of various frog species. Approximately one third of frog fauna is threatened globally. “This problem started in Cape Town in 1933 when Shapiro and Zwarenstein discovered that the urine of a pregnant woman would cause the common platana frog to ovulate.” This method of pregnancy testing, which was used until just a few decades ago, ultimately led to the emergence of a virulent pathogen that spread from the xenopus species of frog to other species worldwide.
Huntley said it was vitally important to understand the cause-and-effect relationships that helped ecologists understand the complexity of the global environment. He praised A Complete Guide to the Frogs of Southern Africa as a vital and comprehensive addition to the rich tradition of South African field guides. “I hope it will encourage the community to go out there, get their feet wet, and discover new species of frogs.”
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