Marked similarities exist between the flora and fauna of the arid southwestern and northeastern corners of Africa. Among amphibians, a tendency towards this distribution is shown by vicariating species of the Bufo vertebralis group, by the B. garmanilpseudogarmanilpoweri complex and by Tomopterna cryptotis. In all of these, greater taxonomic complexity is present in the south, and ranges include the moister southeast. Keywords: African amphibians, Allopatric populations, Arid corridor, Distribution, Dwarf toads, Ecologically catholic, Non-bufonids, Phylogenetic analyses, Xeric species.