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Group:

Eudicot

Estimated genome size:

0.3 meters in height.

Size:

0.3 meters in height.

Distribution:

Found in grassland habitats across Southern Africa.

PromethION Sequencing Report:

Output:

122.04 Gigabases

Approximate N50:

9.24 kilobases

Draft Genome Assembly Statistics:

Genome Length:

2.75 Gigabases

BUSCO completeness score (single and duplicated genes):

99.6% [S: 60.8%, D: 38.8%]

Importance:

Some populations of this species in the Barberton region of South Africa have evolved the ability to hyperaccumulate nickel, making this species ideal for a comparative genomics approach to understand the evolution of this extreme phenotype.

Sample Contributor contact details:

Prof. Robert Ingle
University of Cape Town

Group:

Amphibian

Estimated genome size:

Size:

115 to 147mm

Distribution:

This species is restricted to a narrow coastal strip from the Cape Peninsula to Agulhas National Park, with intermediate populations now locally extinct.

PromethION Sequencing Report:

Output:

135.64 Gigabases

Approximate N50:

3.53 kilobases

Assembly N50:

81.63 kilobases

Contig number:

110 518

Draft Genome Assembly Statistics:

Assembler used:

TBA

Genome Length:

3.6 Gigabases

BUSCO completeness score (single and duplicated genes):

86.7% [S: 86.3%, D: 0.4%]

BUSCO database:

TBA

Sclerophrys pantherina

Western Leopard Toad

Species Card Details

Importance:

The Western Leopard Toad is a narrow endemic of the Western Cape, South Africa, with several populations already lost. The remaining few are critical to the species’ survival. Although it has shown some adaptability to urban and agricultural landscapes, it persists only in these heavily modified areas. Growing threats in these environments place the remaining, genetically distinct, populations at high risk of extinction.

Sample Contributor contact details:

Dr Jessica da Silva
South African National Biodiversity Institute

Date Published:

2025-06-23

Photo credit:

© L. Verburgt

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