Amphibians of Togo: taxonomy, distribution and conservation status Author Segniagbeto, Gabriel Hoinsoudé Laboratory of Ecology and Ecotoxicology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lomé, BP 6057 Lomé, Togo, BP 1515, Lomé (Togo) and Institute for Development, Ecology, Conservation and Cooperation, Rome (Italy) gsegniagbeto @ gmail. com (corresponding author) Author Mark-Oliver, Annemarie Ohler Author Luca, Mark-Oliver Rödel Author Alain, Luca Luiselli Author Dubois, Alain Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE-PSL, Université des Antilles, 57 rue Cuvier, CP 30, F- 75005, Paris (France) alain. dubois @ mnhn. fr dubois@mnhn.fr text Zoosystema 2024 2024-10-08 46 25 631 670 https://sciencepress.mnhn.fr/sites/default/files/articles/pdf/zoosystema2024v46a25.pdf journal article 10.5252/zoosystema2024v46a25 1638-9387 13907152 D4AC1F89-AC34-43C4-9761-3F2015A02265 Xenopus tropicalis (Gray, 1864) ( Fig. 12C ) MATERIAL EXAMINED . — Togo • 4 ♀ ; Agoté; MNHN-RA-2006.2172-2175. DESCRIPTION . — Medium to large frog (SVL 40-56 mm ♀ ), with flattened body. Snout rounded. Head very small, wider than long (HW 26-29% SVL; HL 21-26% SVL). Very small eyes and eyelids (EL 1.4-1.6 mm diameter); a very small subocular tentacle, about one third of eye dimeter. Tympanum indistinct. Hind leg rather short (TL 36-50% SVL). Webbing complete, no free phalanges. Four horny claws, three at the toes I, II, III and one covering the metatarsal tubercle. Skin smooth, lateral line system with 18-20 tubercles from eyelid to rear part of flanks, also on neck region and border of lower jaw; belly smooth. COLOURATION . — The dorsal colouration is dark brown or black depending on the habitat. The dorsal part of forearm, thigh and tibia is also dark. The belly is lighter. SEXUAL DIMORPHISM . — Differences between males and females are little marked ( Arnoult & Lamotte 1968 ). Males are thinner and smaller than females, the outer sides of their fingers carry black nuptial pads and their dermal lobes above vent are larger than in females. The head is narrower in males than in females. HABITATS AND DISTRIBUTION. — Xenopus tropicalis is a forest species that enters the savannah zone along gallery forests ( Rödel 2000 ). It is most frequent in the ecological zone IV (Kpélé and Badou regions). It lives in ponds or abandoned wells where it hides in the mud during the dry season. It is widespread in humid forests and savannahs with forest areas or forest galleries in Kpélé and Akposso. Fifty-nine specimens of this species were collected by Bourgat (1979) in Kandé (Kanté), Lamakara ( Kara ), Niamtougou, Sotougoua (Sotouboua), Badou and Klouto. The occurrence of this species in the ecological zones I, II, III and IV is known from these specimens.