Contributions to the herpetofauna of the Angolan Okavango- Cuando-Zambezi river drainages. Part 3: Amphibians
Author
Conradie, Werner
National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project, Wild Bird Trust, SOUTH AFRICA & Department of Nature Conservation Management, Natural Resource Science and Management Cluster, Faculty of Science, George Campus, Nelson Mandela University, George, SOUTH AFRICA & Port Elizabeth Museum, Beach Road, Humewood, Port Elizabeth 6013, SOUTH AFRICA
Author
Keates, Chad
South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB), Makhanda, SOUTH AFRICA & National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project, Wild Bird Trust, SOUTH AFRICA & Department of Nature Conservation Management, Natural Resource Science and Management Cluster, Faculty of Science, George Campus, Nelson Mandela University, George, SOUTH AFRICA
Author
Verburgt, Luke
Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0001, SOUTH AFRICA & Enviro-Insight CC, Unit 8 Oppidraai Office Park, Pretoria 0050, SOUTH AFRICA & National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project, Wild Bird Trust, SOUTH AFRICA
Author
Baptista, Ninda L.
Museum für Naturkunde-Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstr. 43, 10115 Berlin, GERMANY & BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, 4485 - 661 Vairão, PORTUGAL & Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, 4169 - 007, Porto, PORTUGAL & CIBIO / InBio, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, Rua Padre Armando Quintas, 4485 - 661 Vairão, PORTUGAL & Instituto Superior de Ciências da Educação da Huíla (ISCED), Rua Sarmento Rodrigues, Lubango, ANGOLA & National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project, Wild Bird Trust, SOUTH AFRICA
Author
Harvey, James
Harvey Ecological, 41 Devonshire Avenue, Howick, 3290, SOUTH AFRICA & National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project, Wild Bird Trust, SOUTH AFRICA
text
Amphibian & Reptile Conservation
2023
e 325
2023-08-04
17
1
19
56
journal article
297340
10.5281/zenodo.12761936
5e6c8fd8-74a8-4de2-8687-29b4ea71fac1
1525-9153
12761936
Hemisus guineensis
Cope, 1865
Guinea
Shovel-snouted Frog (
Fig. 11
;
Map 10
)
Material (
6 specimens
):
PEM
A14955, Cuando River, CUD2018
AC
Camp 27, -16.09006° 21.83947°,
1,038 m
asl;
PEM
A14832–3,
INBAC
: WC-6948, Lake Hundo, -14.97431° 21.62966°,
1,100 m
asl;
PEM
A13831, Cuando River, camp 18, -14.66105° 20.16858°,
1,124 m
asl;
PEM
A12771, Cuando River Source, trap 3, -13.00334° 19.13564°,
1,360 m
asl.
Additional material (1 tadpole lot):
SAIAB
209095 (7 tadpoles), small wooden bridge across wetland on road between Cuanavale River source camp and Munhango, -12.30714° 18.62333°,
1,397 m
asl.
Description:
Small to medium sized frog; hardened pointed snout; small eyes; tympanum hidden; smooth dorsum (except
PEM
A12771, in which the yellow spots are slightly elevated); transverse skin ridge between posterior corners of eye, extending behind eye to above the arm; reduced webbing; large inner metatarsal and outer metacarpal tubercles. Grey dorsum with yellow mottling or spots; yellow vertebral stripe present; ventrum granular, with small irregular spots. Males with dark throats. Adult females (n = 3) varied from 40.5–49.2 (43.4) mm (largest female:
PEM
A12771); adult males (n = 3) varied from 26.7–31.6 (29.8) mm (largest male:
PEM
A14955).
Habitat and natural history notes:
No calls were heard. Specimens were either caught in traps or by hand while they were active at night after heavy rains in November, near open grassland and pans.
One female
(
PEM
A13831) collected in November was gravid.
Comments:
Laurent (1972)
assigned all Angolan material he examined to the subspecies
H. guineensis microps
,
and this was followed by
Ruas (1996)
. However,
Channing (2001)
and
Marques et al. (2018)
documented two species of
Hemisus
occuring in
Angola
,
Hemisus guineensis
in the north and
H. marmoratus
in the south-central region. We follow
Laurent (1972)
and assign all Angolan material to
Hemisus guineensis
until an in-depth phylogenetic work is conducted to assess the taxonomic status of the available material.