| Arum lily reed frog | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Hyperoliidae |
| Genus: | Hyperolius |
| Species: | H. horstockii |
| Binomial name | |
| Hyperolius horstockii (Schlegel, 1837) | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
Hyla horstockiiSchlegel, 1837 | |
The arum lily reed frog, Horstock's arum-frog, arum lily frog, or Horstock's reed frog (Hyperolius horstockii) is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae. It is endemic to South Africa. [1] [2]
Adults grow to 40 mm in length. They have bright orange feet and can change their colour to camouflage themselves. The top of the body is cream to brown, sometimes with small black spots. A distinctive, pale, dorsolateral line runs from the snout along the flanks, with a dark-brown lateral band underneath. A fine, dark line usually separates the pale line from the brown band. The concealed surfaces of limbs, webbing, and discs are orange to red. Underneath, the frog is creamy white and slightly granular. The gular flap in males is bright ochre. their pupils are horizontal. [3]
Tadpoles reach 40 mm. They are brown with longitudinal, darker bands on their tails. [3]
The arum frog is found in the southern coastal plain of South Africa from Cape Town in the Western Cape to Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape. [4]
Its natural habitats are Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, rivers, swamps, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, and ponds. It is frequently found lying at the bottom of arum lilies ( Zantedeschia aethiopica ), trying to catch pollinating insects. [5]
It is assessed as least concern but some populations are threatened by habitat loss through the invasion of alien vegetation and fire. [1] Contrary to popular belief it is not threatened by the collection and sale of arum lilies. [6]
These frogs are sometimes found in arum lily flowers where they can change colour to perfectly match their surroundings. This makes them virtually invisible to predators, as well as to their insect prey. Their pale colour camouflages them in the white flowers, helped by hiding their bright orange feet and legs under their bodies during the day. Contrary to popular belief they do not use the pollen of the flowers to camouflage themselves. [6]
The breeding habitat of the arum frog includes large or small pans, dams, vleis and slow-flowing, quiet streams where there is sufficient emergent vegetation. Males usually call at night from elevated positions above water, normally in the emergent vegetation such as sedges, reeds, shrubs and grasses, although they may sometimes call from the pads of water lilies. The usually start calling just after sunset, but will call sporadically in the late afternoon on cloudy, rainy days. The arum frog occurs mostly in a winter rainfall region; however, its breeding season occurs over the spring and summer, in September–January. After mating the female lays clutches of 10–30 eggs which are attached to the submerged roots and stems of plants. [3]
The Iberian painted frog is a species of frog in the family Alytidae. It is found in Portugal and Spain, where its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, rivers, intermittent rivers, swamps, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, sandy shores, arable land, and grassland. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The Knysna banana frog is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae. It is endemic to South Africa.
Hyperolius hypsiphonus is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae. It is found in southern Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, the western Republic of the Congo, and northwestern Angola. Common name cross-banded egg-guarding frog has been proposed for it.
Hyperolius microps is a species of frogs in the family Hyperoliidae. It is known with some certainty from northern Malawi, extreme northern Mozambique, Tanzania, and coastal Kenya; presumably its range extends into adjacent Zambia. However, its range and delimitation differs widely between sources.
Hyperolius poweri is a species of frogs in the family Hyperoliidae. It is found in southeastern coast of South Africa and southern Mozambique. The specific name poweri honours John Hyacinth Power, Irish-born director of the McGregor Museum who collected amphibians as well as reptiles and plants. Accordingly, common names Power's reed frog and Power's long reed frog have been proposed for this species.
Hyperolius dintelmanni is a species of frogs in the family Hyperoliidae. It is endemic to Cameroon and found in the montane southwestern part of the country. Specifically, it has been recorded from the Bakossi Mountains, including the Edib Hills and Mount Kupe. The specific name, dintelmanni, honors Mr. Horst Dintelmann from Germany in recognition of "his support of taxonomic research and forthcoming conservation projects in Cameroon".
Hyperolius guttulatus is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae. It occurs in West and Middle Africa between Sierra Leone in the west and Gabon in the east/south. Common name dotted reed frog has been coined for this species.
The marbled reed frog or painted reed frog is a species of frogs in the family Hyperoliidae found in Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Eswatini, and Zimbabwe, and Botswana, and Angola,Lesotho, and Tanzania. It occurs in a wide range of natural habitats, including forests, savannas, shrublands, grasslands, rivers, swamps, freshwater lakes, and intermittent freshwater lakes. It coexists well with humans, and is also found in pastureland, rural gardens, and urban areas. Its range appears to be expanding to the winter rainfall area of the Western Cape.
Hyperolius nasutus is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae. Common names include long-nosed reed frog, sharp-nosed reed frog and long reed frog. It is known from northern Angola and northern Botswana, but it presumably occurs more widely. The nominal Hyperolius nasutus was partitioned in 2013 into three cryptic species, the other two being Hyperolius viridis and Hyperolius microps. All these species are members of the so-called Hyperolius nasutus species group, the "long reed frogs".
Hyperolius ocellatus is a species of tropical West African frog in the family Hyperoliidae, that is split into the subspecies H. o. ocellatus and H. o. purpurescens. It is found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Nigeria, Uganda, and possibly Rwanda. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, rivers, intermittent freshwater marshes, freshwater springs, rural gardens, heavily degraded former forest, ponds, and canals and ditches.
Hyperolius parallelus, also known as the Angolan reed frog, is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae. It is found in Southern and Central Africa. It is part of the so-called Hyperolius viridiflavus species complex and has a complex history of taxonomic treatments.
Pickersgill's reed frog, also known as Avoca reed frog, is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae. It is endemic to South Africa. It occurs in the coastal lowlands of KwaZulu-Natal between Sezela and St Lucia.
Hyperolius pusillus is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae. It is found throughout diverse environments in eastern and southern Africa. It is a very common frog. Its natural habitats are open savanna, bush land and grassland. Breeding takes place in shallow pans, vleis, open swamps, and dams with floating vegetation such as water lilies.
Hyperolius semidiscus is a species of frogs in the family Hyperoliidae. It is found in southern and eastern South Africa and in Eswatini, and it is likely to be present in Mozambique. Common names yellow-striped reed frog, yellow-flanked reed frog, and Hewitt's reed frog have been coined for it.
Hyperolius sheldricki is a species of small frog in the family Hyperoliidae. It is endemic to southeast Kenya. The type locality is in the Tsavo East National Park.
Hyperolius swynnertoni is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae. It is found in the southern portion of the eastern Zimbabwe uplands and adjacent Mozambique. It is also known as the Swynnerton's reed frog, with the subspecies "broadleyi" as the Broadley's tree frog or Broadley's forest treefrog.
Weale's running frog, also known as Weale's frog, rattling frog, and many other commons names, is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae. It is monotypic within the genus Semnodactylus. It is found in southern and eastern South Africa, Lesotho, and Eswatini.
The micro frog, or Cape Flats frog, is a species of frog less than 2 cm (0.8 in) long in the family Pyxicephalidae, in the monotypic genus Microbatrachella. Its color varies from rufous brown with dark mottling, to tan or green, depending on the population. It is endemic to the south-western Cape area of South Africa, with a single population found on the Cape Flats of Cape Town and several populations on the eastern side of False Bay. It typically lives in wetlands in coastal fynbos habitats, but its total area of occupancy is very small, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated it as being "critically endangered".
The Mozambique ridged frog is a species of frog in the family Ptychadenidae. These frogs can swim fairly well, jump far and can crawl with ease through dense plants. Their strong hindlegs can launch them up to three metres into the air in a single bound.
Delalande's sand frog, also known as Delalande's frog, Cape sand frog, or striped pixie, is a species of frog in the family Pyxicephalidae. It is endemic to western and southern South Africa and occurs in the low-lying areas of Namaqualand, Western Cape, and Eastern Cape as far east as Cape St. Francis.
