This is a restricted concept of P. edulis following the split of the broader concept into this and P. angusticeps (Scott et al. 2013).

Listed as Least Concern because, although it is eaten in parts of its range, it has a wide distribution, is tolerant of a broad range of habitats and has a presumed large population.

This species ranges from southern Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania, south to Mozambique, southern Malawi, southern Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, northern and eastern South Africa and Swaziland. There are also subpopulations currently assigned to this species in northern Benin, northern Nigeria and northern Cameroon, and in Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia. There are no records in the poorly explored regions between Cameroon and Somalia, and so its occurrence in these areas is not indicated on the distribution map. However, it might occur in the intervening areas in the Central African Republic, Chad, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, and also in Togo, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Guinea. It occurs from sea level up to 1,500 m asl in South Africa. 

It is thought to occur sympatrically with Pyxicephalus angusticeps on the Mozambique plain (Scott et al. 2013).

It is a common species in East Africa and is quite common in South Africa. Due to ongoing declines in the extent and quality of habitat in parts of this species' range, it is likely that there are some localised subpopulation declines.

It inhabits flat areas in open grassy woodland and marshy areas in eastern and southern Africa, and in very dry savannah in West Africa. It has been recorded from riverine and woodland habitats in western Tanzania (Gardner et al. 2007). It is fossorial, only coming to the surface at the beginning of the rainy season. It breeds in shallow, well-vegetated seasonal pans (although it has also been found at a puddle without vegetation in northern Benin; Nago et al. 2006), as well as many man-made small waterbodies. It is active at night during the breeding season. The males guard the tadpoles, protecting them from predation.

The major threat through most of its range is harvesting of frogs for local consumption. This species is sometimes also found in the international pet trade but at levels that do not currently constitute a major threat. In western Tanzania, much of the miombo woodland area is increasingly threatened by habitat degradation following conversion to agriculture or overharvesting (see Gardner et al. 2007).

The species is locally, widely used for human subsistence and is occasionally found in the international pet trade.

Conservation Actions
There are large subpopulations in many protected areas.