Phlyctimantis maculatus

Hylambates maculatus is endemic to the tropical and sub-tropical areas of Africa's east coast (Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Eswatini). The frog thrives in varying terrain including shrubland, grassland, savannah, and forest as long as there exists a ready source of fresh water or high humidity. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, moist savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, temperate grassland, subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, swamps, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marches, arable land, pastureland, rural gardens, heavily degraded former forest, water storage areas, and ponds. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Red-legged running frogs are nocturnal, and therefore somewhat elusive to humans—preferring to burrow under loose soil or hide in dense vegetation during the day. At night they take to climbing trees and tall shrubs to feed mainly on a diet of insects and insect larvae. They are characterized by preferring a distinctive "walking" with the back legs instead of the more traditional frog-hopping.