Phrynobatrachus africanus (Hallowell 1868)

Jongsma, Gregory F. M., Tobi, Elie, Dixon-MacCallum, Graham P., Bamba-Kaya, Abraham, Yoga, Jean-Aimé, Mbega, Jean-Daniel, Beh, Jean-Hervé Mve, Emrich, Andrea M., Blackburn Abstract. - We, David C., This, Gabon. & Park, Batéké Plateau National, 2017, Amphibians of Haut-Ogooué Province, southeastern Gabon, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 144) 11 (1), pp. 1-23 : 14

Phrynobatrachus africanus (Hallowell 1868)

Material: Thirteen (13) specimens. CAS 258187–88, GFMJ 1332–34. Mboua: CAS 258222, 258243, 1425, 1427–28, 1463–65. Fig. 11 D–E.

Comments: The distantly related genera Phrynobatrachus and Arthroleptis have often proved difficult for field researchers to distinguish. The most reliable diagnostic feature is the presence of a tubercle roughly in the middle of the tarsus in Phrynobatrachus in addition to both an inner and outer metatarsal tubercle ( Zimkus and Blackburn 2008). Phrynobatrachus africanus is a common forest species found in the leaf litter and easily identified by its rugose skin, yellow legs, and in males both a large flat nuptial pad and odontoid processes. We also encountered individuals with red legs in sympatry with the yellow-legged individuals ( Fig. 11), but these morphotypes were confirmed as conspecific using 16S rRNA sequences (100% similarity). It is widely distributed across Gabon and known from Ivindo NP ( Frétey and Blanc 2001), Loango NP ( Burger et al. 2006), Lopé ( Frétey and Blanc 2000), and Moukalaba-Doudou ( Burger et al. 2004). We sequenced 16S rRNA of CAS 258243, GFMJ 1332–34, 1425, 1427–28 and confirmed their identifications using BLAST (GenBank accession: MF537671–73, MF537675, MF537680–81, MF537685– 89, MF537691; most similar to GenBank sequence GU457531; 93% identical).