Phrynobatrachus pakenhami

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Phrynobatrachus pakenhami
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Phrynobatrachidae
Genus: Phrynobatrachus
Species:
P. pakenhami
Binomial name
Phrynobatrachus pakenhami
Loveridge, 1941 [2]
Synonyms [3]

Phrynobatrachus nigripesPickersgill, 2007

Phrynobatrachus pakenhami is a frog species in the family Phrynobatrachidae. It is endemic to Pemba Island off Tanzania. [3] [1] It is similar to Phrynobatrachus acridoides , its sister species, but the two species differ in ecology and male advertisement call. [1] [4] On the other hand, the recently described, supposed diminutive species P. nigripes was simply based on juveniles and subadults of P. pakenhami. [1] [4] [5]

Contents

Etymology

The specific name pakenhami honours Richard Hercules Wingfield Pakenham, a British colonial administrator who studied the fauna of Zanzibar and Pemba. [4] [6] Common name Pakenham's river frog has been coined for it. [1] [3] [4] [6]

Description

Adult males measure 25–35 mm (1.0–1.4 in) and adult females 31–36 mm (1.2–1.4 in) in snout–vent length, although different authors report somewhat different ranges. The body is rather stocky. The snout is obtusely pointed. The tympanum is visible. The digital tips have discs, small on the fingers but well-developed on the toes. The toes are moderately webbed. Skin is smooth except for the W-shaped scapular warts. The dorsum is more or less uniform grey or brownish grey. The snout often bears a lighter triangle. A broad, light vertebral area, and a broad, transverse interorbital bar may be present. Darker brown patches are superimposed on the scapular warts. Hind limbs may have broad, light-edged dark crossbars. The upper lip is either uniform grey or barred. Venter is whitish with some minute, brown spots. Males have dark grey throat. Females are marked with brown blotches, which may give a dark cast to the throat. [4]

Habitat and conservation

Phrynobatrachus pakenhami occurs in forest and forest fringes of the northern part of the Pemba Island. Breeding takes place in pools, marshes, puddles and roadside ditches in and near tropical evergreen lowland forest. [1]

This species does not occur in severely disturbed habitats. It is common in the Ngezi Forest Reserve that contains the last remaining stand of indigenous rainforest on the island. It is threatened by habitat loss and may have already disappeared outside the Ngezi Forest Reserve. [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>Phrynobatrachus</i> Genus of amphibians

Phrynobatrachus is a genus of Sub-Saharan frogs that form the monogeneric family Phrynobatrachidae. Their common name is puddle frogs, dwarf puddle frogs, African puddle frogs, or African river frogs. The common name, puddle frog, refers to the fact that many species breed in temporary waterbodies such as puddles.

<i>Phrynobatrachus bequaerti</i> Species of frog

Phrynobatrachus bequaerti is a species of frog in the family Phrynobatrachidae. It is found in the mountains of north-western Burundi, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and western Rwanda. The specific name bequaerti honours Joseph Charles Bequaert, a Belgian botanist, entomologist, and malacologist and who collected the holotype from Mount Vissoke. Common name Vissoke river frog has been coined for this species.

Phrynobatrachus bullans is a species of frog in the family Phrynobatrachidae. It is found in northern and central inland Tanzania, southern Ethiopia, and southwestern Kenya. Common name bubbling puddle frog has been coined for it.

<i>Phrynobatrachus cricogaster</i> Species of amphibian

Phrynobatrachus cricogaster is a species of frog in the family Phrynobatrachidae. It is found in the mountains of western Cameroon and southeastern Nigeria. Common name Nkongsamba river frog has been coined for it. The specific name cricogaster is derived from the Greek krikos for "ring" and gaster for "belly", in reference to the prominent ring pattern on its venter.

Phrynobatrachus dalcqi is a species of frogs in the family Phrynobatrachidae. It is endemic to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and only known from Fizi Territory in the South Kivu province. The specific name dalcqi honours "Professor A. Dalcq", presumably Albert Dalcq (1893–1973), a Belgian embryologist. Common names Kivu river frog and Dalcq's puddle frog have been proposed for it.

Phrynobatrachus gastoni is a species of frog in the family Phrynobatrachidae. It is endemic to the north-central Democratic Republic of the Congo and only known from its type locality, Buta. The specific name gastoni honours Gaston-François de Witte, a Belgian colonial administrator and naturalist who scrutinized the types. Common name Buta river frog has been coined for it.

Phrynobatrachus hylaios is a species of frog in the family Phrynobatrachidae. It is known from southern Cameroon and western Republic of the Congo, although its range presumably extends into nearby Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon. It was first described as a subspecies of Phrynobatrachus werneri. The common name Foulassi river frog has been coined for it.

Phrynobatrachus inexpectatus is a species of frog in the family Phrynobatrachidae. It is endemic to southern Ethiopia. It is known with confidence from only three localities, but it may be more widely distributed in the Ethiopian Highlands. The specific name inexpectatus refers to the unexpected discovery of this species among museum specimens assigned to Phrynobatrachus minutus. Common names unexpected puddle frog and Largen's dwarf puddle frog have been coined for it.

Phrynobatrachus keniensis is a species of frog in the family Phrynobatrachidae. It is found widely in the highlands of Kenya. It is also recorded from Mount Meru in northern Tanzania, but this might represent a different species. Common names Kenya River frog and upland puddle frog have been coined for it.

<i>Phrynobatrachus minutus</i> Species of frog

Phrynobatrachus minutus is a species of frog in the family Phrynobatrachidae. It is endemic to Ethiopia and occurs in the central and southern parts of the country on both sides of the Rift Valley; its range may extend south to Kenya, perhaps further. Some earlier records from Ethiopia represent Phrynobatrachus inexpectatus, described as a new species in 2001. The specific name minutus refers to the small size of this frog. Common names tiny river frog and Ethiopian dwarf puddle frog have been coined for it.

Phrynobatrachus ogoensis is a species of frog in the family Phrynobatrachidae. It is endemic to Gabon and is known from its type locality, Lambaréné in the Moyen-Ogooué Province, and from the Ramba Village in the Ogooué-Ivindo Province, in the buffer zone of the Lopé National Park.

Phrynobatrachus rungwensis is a species of frog in the family Phrynobatrachidae. It is found in southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, central and northern Malawi, and east to southern and central Tanzania. It is also expected to occur in northeastern Zambia. Common names Rungwe puddle frog and Rungwe river frog have been coined for it. It is named after Mount Rungwe, its type locality.

Phrynobatrachus scapularis is a species of frog in the family Phrynobatrachidae. It is endemic to the northern and northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The specific name scapularis refers to shoulder blades (scapulae). Common name Buta river frog has been coined for it.

Phrynobatrachus steindachneri is a species of frog in the family Phrynobatrachidae. It is found in western Cameroon and eastern Nigeria. The specific name steindachneri honours Franz Steindachner, an Austrian herpetologist and ichthyologist. This species is also known as Steindachner's puddle frog and Steindachner's river frog.

Phrynobatrachus sulfureogularis is a species of frog in the family Phrynobatrachidae. It is known from the Massif of Nanzergwa, its type locality in the Bururi Province of western Burundi, and from the Mahale Mountains National Park in eastern Tanzania. The specific name sulfureogularis is derived from the Latin sulfur that refers to the element that is yellow in color and gula meaning throat, in reference to the bright yellow throat in breeding males. Common name central river frog has been coined for it.

Phrynobatrachus taiensis is a species of frog in the family Phrynobatrachidae. It is endemic to Ivory Coast and only known from its type locality, Taï Forest in the Taï National Park. There are concerns about taxonomic validity of this species. Common name Tai river frog has been coined for it.

Phrynobatrachus tokba is a species of frog in the family Phrynobatrachidae. It is found in West Africa from Ghana westward to Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Guinea-Bissau. Common names Tokba river frog, Tokba puddle frog, and—when referring to the formerly recognized Phrynobatrachus alticola, forest river frog—have been proposed for it.

Phrynobatrachus ukingensis is a species of frog in the family Phrynobatrachidae. It is recorded in several places in southern and eastern Tanzania and in northern and southern Malawi ; it probably occurs more widely, at least in areas in between the known localities. Common names Ukinga puddle frog and Ukinga river frog have been coined for it.

Phrynobatrachus africanus is a species of frog in the family Phrynobatrachidae. It is found in Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, southwestern Central African Republic, western Republic of the Congo, and north-central Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its range might extend into Nigeria. The IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group, however, considers the limits of its range unknown and does not include the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the range.

Lygodactylus grotei, also known commonly as Grote's dwarf gecko, is a species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is native to East Africa and Southern Africa. There are two recognized subspecies.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2016). "Phrynobatrachus pakenhami". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T58130A87854253. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T58130A87854253.en .
  2. ↑ Loveridge, Arthur (1941). "New geckos (Phelsuma&Lygodactylus), snake (Leptotyphlops), and frog (Phrynobatrachus) from Pemba Island, East Africa". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 54: 175–178.
  3. 1 2 3 Frost, Darrel R. (2018). "Phrynobatrachus pakenhami Loveridge, 1941". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Zimkus, Breda (2014). "Phrynobatrachus pakenhami Loveridge, 1941". African Amphibians. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  5. ↑ Pickersgill, Martin (2008). "'Frog Search': Synonymy of Phrynobatrachus nigripes Pickersgill, 2007, plus other comments and corrections". Zootaxa . 1820 (1): 67–68. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1820.1.6.
  6. 1 2 Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael & Grayson, Michael (2013). The Eponym Dictionary of Amphibians. Pelagic Publishing. p. 161. ISBN   978-1-907807-42-8.
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