Aubria sp.

Marques, Mariana P., Ceríaco, Luis M. P., Blackburn, David C. & Bauer, Aaron M., 2018, Diversity and Distribution of the Amphibians and Terrestrial Reptiles of Angola Atlas of Historical and Bibliographic Records (1840 - 2017), Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 65, pp. 1-501 : 151-152

Aubria sp.

Rana subsigillata Duméril 1856:560 . Holotype: MNHN 1566 (collector J. Aubry-Lecomte). Type locality:

“ Gabon ” ( Duméril 1856:560). Aubria masako Ohler and Kazadi 1990:29 , figs. 4, 8, 10, 12, 24. Holotype: MNHN 1989.2775 (collector

M. Kazadi). Type locality: “ Forêt de Masako près du village Batiabongena à 15 km du centre-ville de

Kisangani sur l’ancienne route Buta ( Zaire)” (Ohler and Kazadi 1990:29), [ = Masako forest, near

Batiabongena village, 15 km from Kisangani], Democratic Republic of Congo. Rana (Aubria) subsigillata : Monard (1937a:47, 1938:104). Aubria subsigillata : Cei (1977:17), Perret (1996:96). Aubria masako : Channing (2011:284), Frétey et al. (2011:42), Channing et al. (2012:329), Frost (2016).

Global distribution: Aubria masako and A. subsigillata are known from the tropical forests of central Africa, with ranges that together extend from the Atlantic coast of Cameroon and Gabon and into the Congo Basin of Democratic Republic of Congo.

Ocurrences in Angola ( Map 98 ): Both Aubria subsigillata and A. masako have only been reported from “Kakindo (Kuvangu)” in southern Angola. Cuando Cubango: “Kakindo (Kuvangu)” [-14.46667, 16.30000] ( Monard 1937a:47, 1938:104; Channing 2001:285).

Taxonomy and natural history notes: Monard (1937 a, 1938) cited one specimen of Aubria subsigillata ( Duméril, 1856) from “Kakindo (Kuvangu),” Angola that was identified by Gaston de Witte. This first and only record for the genus in Angola is unlikely due to the habitat, a dry savanna, and its long distance from congeneric populations in central or western Africa. Perret (1996) revisited this specimen and cited morphological differences from A. subsigillata in Cameroon to suggest that it might represent a new species or even a new genus. It remains unclear whether this record indeed corresponds to Aubria and, if so, to which species it should be referred. The specimen cited by Monard (1937 a, 1938) was recently located in the collections of the Musée d’Histoire Naturelle, La-Chaux-de-Fond,

Switzerland and is presently being studied

(Ceríaco et al. in prep.).

Figures

MAP 98. Distribution of Aubria sp. in Angola.