Hyperolius discodactylus

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Hyperolius discodactylus
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Hyperoliidae
Genus: Hyperolius
Species:
H. discodactylus
Binomial name
Hyperolius discodactylus
Ahl, 1931
Synonyms [2] [3]

Hyperolius alticolaAhl, 1931

Hyperolius discodactylus is a species of frogs in the family Hyperoliidae. [2] [4] It occurs in the montane areas of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and western Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi. It is also known as the Albertine Rift reed frog, highland reed frog, or disc-fingered reed frog. [2] [1]

Contents

Description

Adult males measure 27–35 mm (1.1–1.4 in) and adult females 30–39 mm (1.2–1.5 in) in snout–urostyle length. The fingers bear large discs and are up to half-webbed. The toes have somewhat smaller discs and are about half-webbed. [3] The dorsum is brownish to orange, either uniform or displaying diffuse dark spots. A dark canthal line is present. Calling males have bright green vocal sac. The venter is bright orange. [4]

Habitat and conservation

Hyperolius discodactylus occurs in montane forests at elevations of 1,600–2,700 m (5,200–8,900 ft) above sea level. It is associated with rivers, streams, and swamps, its presumed breeding habitat. [1]

It is mostly a rarely encountered species. Precise information is lacking but it might be threatened by habitat loss caused by agriculture, wood extraction, and human settlements. However, it is present in a number of protected areas: Bwindi and Ruwenzori Mountains National Parks in Uganda, Nyungwe National Park in Rwanda, Bururi Nature Reserve in Burundi, and Kahuzi-Biega and Virunga National Parks in the Democratic Republic of Congo. [1]

Related Research Articles

Afrixalus orophilus is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae. It is found in Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, and southwestern Uganda. Common names Kivu banana frog, montane spiny reed frog, and two-lined leaf-gluing frog has been coined for it.

<i>Hyperolius benguellensis</i>

Hyperolius benguellensis is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae. It is found in southern Angola and northern Botswana and Namibia, but other sources cite a wider and more eastern distribution. It is similar to Hyperolius nasutus and have been considered a synonym of that species. Hyperolius benguellensis is not considered threatened.

Hyperolius brachiofasciatus is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae. It is known from its type locality, Ngoto in southwestern Central African Republic, from another locality in central Republic of the Congo, and from a number of localities in central Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, as of 2014, IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group considers records other than the one from the type locality erroneous, and that this species likely is a synonym of some other species. Common name Ngoto reed frog has been proposed for it.

Hyperolius camerunensis is a species of reed frog in the family Hyperoliidae. It is endemic to western and southwestern Cameroon.

<i>Hyperolius castaneus</i>

Hyperolius castaneus is a species of frogs in the family Hyperoliidae. It is found in the highlands of western Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda as well as eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Common names of this species include Ahl's reed frog, brown reed frog, and montane reed frog. The status of the putative subspecies Hyperolius castaneus rhodogaster is unclear, and it may actually be a distinct species. Also Hyperolius constellatus, now a distinct species, was formerly recognized as a subspecies of H. castaneus.

Hyperolius chrysogaster is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae. It is endemic to the Rwenzori and northern Itombwe Mountains in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. There are also unconfirmed records from Rwanda.

Hyperolius diaphanus is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae. It is endemic to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and is known from near the Itombwe Mountains and the mountains to the west of Lake Kivu. Limits of its range are not clear and might extend into the adjacent Burundi and Rwanda. Common names Kigulube reed frog and translucent 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 frontalis is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae. It is found in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, from northwest of Mount Rwenzori, south to west of Lake Kivu, extending into extreme south-western Uganda in the Bwindi Forest. Common names Bushoho reed frog and white-snouted reed frog have been coined for this species.

Hyperolius glandicolor is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae. It is known from southern Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi. The limits of its distribution, however, are uncertain, and it might also occur in Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda, and even eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Common name Peters reed frog has been coined for it.

Hyperolius igbettensis is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae. It is found in West Africa from Guinea eastward to Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo and Benin, Nigeria, and into Central Africa at least to Cameroon but likely further east to the Central African Republic and southwestern Chad; the eastern border of distribution of this species relative to other members in the Hyperolius nasutus complex is unclear. Common name Igbetti long reed frog has been coined for it. The type locality is near Igbetti, a village in Oyo State, Nigeria.

<i>Hyperolius kivuensis</i>

Hyperolius kivuensis is a frog species of in the family Hyperoliidae. It is found in Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, possibly Mozambique, and possibly Sudan.

Hyperolius lateralis is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae. It is found in Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical swamps, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, rivers, swamps, and heavily degraded former forest. It is threatened by habitat loss.

<i>Hyperolius marginatus</i>

Hyperolius marginatus is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae. It has been recorded from the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. However, the limits of its distribution are very uncertain, and it is likely to occur in Burundi and Rwanda too. Common names coined for this species include margined sedge frog and margined reed frog.

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".

Pickersgills reed frog Species of amphibian in the family Hyperoliidae endemic to South Africa

Pickersgill's 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.

Common reed frog

The common reed frog is a species of tree frogs in the family Hyperoliidae found in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda, and possibly the Central African Republic, Chad, and Eritrea. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical moist montane forest, dry savanna, moist savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, rivers, swamps, freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, freshwater springs, arable land, pastureland, rural gardens, urban areas, heavily degraded former forests, water storage areas, ponds, irrigated land, seasonally flooded agricultural land, and canals and ditches.

<i>Leptopelis kivuensis</i>

Leptopelis kivuensis is a species of frog in the family Arthroleptidae. It is found in the highlands of western Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda, and in the extreme eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It has been considered synonym of Leptopelis karissimbensis, and has been confused with that species. Common names Kisenyi forest treefrog and Kivu tree frog have been coined for it.

Phrynobatrachus graueri is a species of frog in the family Phrynobatrachidae. It is found in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, and western Kenya. The specific name graueri honours Rudolf Grauer, Austrian explorer and zoologist who collected the holotype. Common names Rugege river frog and Grauer's puddle frog have been coined for it.

Phrynobatrachus versicolor is a species of frog in the family Phrynobatrachidae. It is found in northwestern Burundi, western Rwanda, southwestern Uganda, and adjacent eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Common names Rwanda river frog and green puddle frog have been coined for it. The specific name versicolor, derived from the Latin versare and color, and refers to its variable dorsal colouration.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2013). "Hyperolius discodactylus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2013: e.T56130A16939295. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-2.RLTS.T56130A16939295.en .
  2. 1 2 3 Frost, Darrel R. (2018). "Hyperolius discodactylus Ahl, 1931". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  3. 1 2 Liedtke, H. Christoph; Kujirakwinja, Deo; Plumptre, Andrew J.; Menegon, Michele; Pupin, Fabio; Dehling, J. Maximilian; Hügli, Dominik & Loader, Simon P. (2014). "One or two species? On the case of Hyperolius discodactylus Ahl, 1931 and H. alticola Ahl, 1931 (Anura: Hyperoliidae)". Zootaxa. 3768 (3): 253–290. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3768.3.2.
  4. 1 2 "Hyperolius discodactylus". AmphibiaWeb. University of California, Berkeley. 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2018.