Phrynobatrachus latifrons

Phrynobatrachus latifrons, the Ahl's river frog or savanna puddle frog,[lower-alpha 1] is a species of frog in the family Phrynobatrachidae. It is found from Senegal in West Africa east to northern Cameroon and eastern Chad in western Central Africa.[2][3] The IUCN Red List includes the following West African countries (in alphabetic order): Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.[1]

Phrynobatrachus latifrons
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Phrynobatrachidae
Genus: Phrynobatrachus
Species:
P. latifrons
Binomial name
Phrynobatrachus latifrons
Ahl, 1924
Synonyms[2]
  • Hylarthroleptis accraensis Ahl, 1925 "1923"
  • Phrynobatrachus accraensis (Ahl, 1925)
  • Hylarthroleptis albolabris Ahl, 1925 "1923"
  • Phrynobatrachus albolabris (Ahl, 1925)
  • Phrynobatrachus vogti Ahl, 1924
  • Hylarthroleptis vogti (Ahl, 1924)
  • Phrynobatrachus parogoensis Loveridge, 1955

Etymology

The common name of this species refers to its describer, German zoologst Ernst Ahl.[4] The formerly recognized Phrynobatrachus vogti, or Vogt's river frog,[2] is named for Theodor Vogt (1881–1932), a German naturalist.[4]

Description

Phrynobatrachus latifrons are short-lived frogs that reach sexual maturity at the age of 4–5 months and live only for further two months.[5] Their body size is small: males grow to a snout–vent length of 14–20 mm (0.6–0.8 in) and females to 16–23 mm (0.6–0.9 in). They are characterized by moderate webbing in their toes (also considered well-developed[3]), absence of eyelid spine, lack of enlarged discs of finger and toes, and a yellow throat in breeding males.[5]

Habitat and conservation

Phrynobatrachus latifrons is an extremely common species. It inhabits wooded and open savanna, secondary forest, degraded former forest, agricultural areas, and inselbergs in rainforest, but avoids closed primary rainforest. It breeds in temporary ponds, puddles, and roadside ditches. There are no significant threats to this very adaptable species.[1]

Notes
  1. Common names Accra river frog, white-lipped river frog, and Vogt's river frog refer to formerly recognized species now included in Phrynobatrachus latifrons.[2]

References
  1. Rödel, M.-O. & Schiøtz, A. (2004). "Phrynobatrachus latifrons (errata version published in 2018)". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2004: e.T165364A136578520. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  2. Frost, Darrel R. (2020). "Phrynobatrachus latifrons Ahl, 1924". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.1. American Museum of Natural History. doi:10.5531/db.vz.0001. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  3. Channing, Allan & Rödel, Mark-Oliver (2019). Field Guide to the Frogs & other Amphibians of Africa. Cape Town: Struik Nature. p. 290. ISBN 978-1-77584-512-6.
  4. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael & Grayson, Michael (2013). The Eponym Dictionary of Amphibians. Pelagic Publishing. 244 pp. ISBN 978-1-907807-42-8. (Ahl: p. 3, Vogt: p. 224)
  5. Zimkus, Breda (2014). "Phrynobatrachus latifrons Ahl, 1924". African Amphibians. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
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