Amnirana albolabris

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Amnirana albolabris
Hylarana albolabris.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Ranidae
Genus: Amnirana
Species:
A. albolabris
Binomial name
Amnirana albolabris
(Hallowell, 1856)
Synonyms [2]
  • Hyla albolabris Hallowell, 1856
  • Hylarana albolabris (Hallowell, 1856)
  • Limnodytes albolabris (Hallowell, 1856)
  • Rana albolabris (Hallowell, 1856)
  • Hylarana acutirostris longipes Perret, 1960
  • Hylarana longipes (Perret, 1960)
  • Amnirana longipes (Perret, 1960)

Amnirana albolabris is a species of frog in the family Ranidae. It is widely distributed in Sub-Saharan West and Middle Africa. [1] [2] However, the nominal species includes at least one undescribed species west of Benin; the formal taxonomic changes to split the species have not yet been done. [2] [3] Common names white-lipped frog and forest white-lipped frog has been coined for it, whereas Bamileke Plateau frog refers to now-synonymized Amnirana longipes (=Hylarana longipes). [2]

Contents

Distribution

Amnirana albolabris occurs in West Africa (from west to east: Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria) and in Middle Africa (from north to south and east: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, and Kenya). [2] There seems to be a gap in the distribution between western Togo and western Nigeria. [1]

Phylogeny and taxonomy

Amnirana albolabris includes two very distinct lineages. The western component includes most of the West African populations and is the sister taxon of Amnirana fonensis . The Central African component also includes the Nigerian populations and is the sister taxon of Amnirana asperrima . The type locality of Amnirana albolabris is given as "West Africa", but later researchers have deduced that the correct locality is Gabon. The name Amnirana albolabris therefore refers to the Central African component. [3] However, molecular data suggest that Amnirana longipes(Perret, 1960) is embedded within the Central African Amnirana albolabris and the former should therefore considered junior synonym of the latter. [2] [3]

Description

Adult females measure 61–74 mm (2.4–2.9 in) in snout–vent length. [3] The snout is slightly rounded and the eyes are prominent. The tympanum is visible. The fingers have no webbing but the toes are webbed. [4]

Habitat and conservation

Amnirana albolabris is found in secondary habitats and heavily degraded former forest in the forest zone as well as in gallery forests in the humid savanna zone. While in West Africa, it occurs in closed-canopy forest and in secondary habitats, it avoids closed forest in central Africa. Individuals are usually found low in the vegetation. West African populations breed in large temporary ponds and in permanent streams, while the central African ones breed in still-water ponds, marshes, raphia swamps and creeks. [1]

It is a very common and adaptable species that is unlikely to suffer from other than localized threats. It occurs in many protected areas. [1]

Related Research Articles

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The true frogs, family Ranidae, have the widest distribution of any frog family. They are abundant throughout most of the world, occurring on all continents except Antarctica. The true frogs are present in North America, northern South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. The Asian range extends across the East Indies to New Guinea and a single species has spread into the far north of Australia.

<i>Amnirana</i> Genus of amphibians

Amnirana is a genus of frogs in the family Ranidae, "true frogs". The genus is primarily found in Sub-Saharan Africa, but one species occurs in parts of southern and southeastern Asia. Some of the African species are widespread but contain undescribed cryptic diversity. Most species have a white upper lip, and the genus is sometimes known as the white-lipped frogs.

<i>Indosylvirana aurantiaca</i> Species of amphibian

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<i>Arthroleptis poecilonotus</i> Species of frog

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<i>Hyperolius concolor</i> Species of amphibian

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<i>Hyperolius ocellatus</i> Species of amphibian

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<i>Leptopelis millsoni</i> Species of amphibian

Leptopelis millsoni is a species of frog in the family Arthroleptidae. It is found in southeastern Nigeria, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and northwestern Angola. Common names Niger forest treefrog and Millson's Tree Frog have been coined for it. There is a need of taxonomic revision of this taxon.

<i>Leptopelis viridis</i> Species of frog

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<i>Amnirana lepus</i> Species of frog

Amnirana lepus is a species of frog in the family Ranidae. It is found in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and northern Angola. Common names Andersson's Cameroon frog, Andersson's white-lipped frog, and jumping white-lipped frog have been proposed for it.

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Aubria subsigillata, commonly known as the brown ball frog or the West African brown frog, is a species of frog belonging to the family Pyxicephalidae. It has a discontinuous distribution from southern Guinea through Liberia and Ivory Coast, and from Nigeria to southern Cameroon, and Equatorial Guinea to Gabon. However, the species delimitation differs between sources, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has adopted a narrower view where this species only occurs in Cameroon and southward.

Common green frog Species of amphibian

The common green frog is a frog species of in the true frog family Ranidae; some sources still use the old name Rana erythraea. It lives in Southeast Asia and is also known as green paddy frog, red-eared frog or leaf frog. The last name, however, commonly refers to the Neotropical tree frogs which make up the subfamily Phyllomedusinae. These are not closely related to H. erythraea, belonging to family Hylidae instead.

"Hylarana" latouchii

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<i>Hylarana</i> Genus of amphibians

Hylarana, commonly known as golden-backed frogs, is a genus of true frogs found in tropical Asia. It was formerly considered highly diverse, containing around 84 to 96 valid species, but taxonomic revision resulted in a major change in the contents of the genus, and today it is recognised as containing just four species.

"Hylarana" attigua is a species of frog in the family Ranidae, the "true frogs". The exact genus-level placement of this species is uncertain because it was not included in the revision of the genus Hylarana that saw what was then very broadly defined genus split into several distinct genera, with relatively few remaining in Hylaranasensu stricto. It is found in central and south Vietnam, eastern Cambodia, and southern Laos. The specific name attigua is derived from Latin attiguus meaning "neighbor". It refers to the similarity of this species to Indosylvirana milleti. Common name similar frog has been coined for this species.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2016) [2013]. "Amnirana albolabris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2013: e.T58192A18405823. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-2.RLTS.T58192A18405823.en .
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Frost, Darrel R. (2019). "Amnirana albolabris (Hallowell, 1856)". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Jongsma, Gregory F.M.; Barej, Michael F.; Barratt, Christopher D.; Burger, Marius; Conradie, Werner; Ernst, Raffael; Greenbaum, Eli; Hirschfeld, Mareike; Leaché, Adam D.; Penner, Johannes; Portik, Daniel M.; Zassi-Boulou, Ange-Ghislain; Rödel, Mark-Oliver & Blackburn, David C. (2018). "Diversity and biogeography of frogs in the genus Amnirana (Anura: Ranidae) across sub-Saharan Africa". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 120: 274–285. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2017.12.006. PMID   29246817.
  4. "Hylarana albolabris (Hallowell, 1856)". African Amphibians. Retrieved 29 January 2019.