Xenopus fischbergi Evans, Carter, Greenbaum, Gvoždík, Kelley, McLaughlin, Pauwels, Portik, Stanley, Tinsley, Tobias & Blackburn, 2015

Segniagbeto, Gabriel Hoinsoudé, Ohler, Annemarie, Rödel, Mark-Oliver, Luiselli, Luca & Dubois, Alain, 2024, Amphibians of Togo: taxonomy, distribution and conservation status, Zoosystema 46 (25), pp. 631-670 : 655

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.5252/zoosystema2024v46a25

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:D4AC1F89-AC34-43C4-9761-3F2015A02265

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13942912

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03F187A4-FFAE-FFF8-AB11-F8AFFC03FC65

treatment provided by

Plazi

scientific name

Xenopus fischbergi Evans, Carter, Greenbaum, Gvoždík, Kelley, McLaughlin, Pauwels, Portik, Stanley, Tinsley, Tobias & Blackburn, 2015
status

 

Xenopus fischbergi Evans, Carter, Greenbaum, Gvoždík, Kelley, McLaughlin, Pauwels, Portik, Stanley, Tinsley, Tobias & Blackburn, 2015 View in CoL

( Fig. 12B View FIG )

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Togo • 9 ♂; Bassar ; MNHN-RA-1979.5304-5312 2 ♂, 3 ♀; Kanté ; MNHN-RA-2006.2244-2248 .

DESCRIPTION. — Medium sized frog (SVL 27.5-32.5 mm ♂, 44- 53.8 mm ♀), with flattened body. Snout rounded. Head as long as broad (HW 22-29% SVL; HL 26-32% SVL). Eye larger (EL 1.6- 2.8 mm) than in Xenopus tropicalis ; subocular tentacle short, about half eye diameter. Tympanum indistinct. Hind leg rather short (TL 38-45% SVL). Webbing complete, no free phalanges. Three horny claws on toes I, II and III; metatarsal tubercles without horny claw. Skin smooth, with 22-24 dorsolateral lateral-line marks from the back of eyelid to rear back; belly smooth.

COLOURATION. — The dorsal colouration is gray. The flanks, upper forearm, thigh and tibia are also gray. The belly is lighter.

SEXUAL DIMORPHISM. — The males are smaller than the females. They have no vocal sac.

HABITATS AND DISTRIBUTION. — This species was formerly included in Xenopus muelleri (Peters, 1844) , which is now known to be restricted to eastern and southern Africa. The West African populations have been described as a distinct species, Xenopus fischbergi ( Evans et al. 2015) . Essentially a savannah form, this species is present in the savannahs of ecological zones I and II. It is very common in the Bassar and Kanté regions. Its distribution in the southern regions of the country remains doubtful. A population of the species was reported from the ecological zone III ( Segniagbeto et al. 2022). This species was reported in Kanté and Kara regions by Bourgat (1979).

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Amphibia

Order

Anura

Family

Pipidae

Genus

Xenopus

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