Amphibian Species of the World 5.6, an Online Reference

Xenopus laevis borealis Parker, 1936, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Ser. 10, 18: 596. Syntypes: BMNH (5 specimens) (Marsabit), 1901.1.3.34-36 (Lake Nakuru), 1910.10.31.26 and 1909.11.15.4-7 (Nairobi), 1929.10.13.3-6 and 1913.4.24.17 and 1932.5.2.36-38 (Lake Naivasha), 1935.11.2.11-12 (Mt. Elgon), 1912.11.8.4-12 (Leikipia). MCZ 22302 (Marsabit) and 22303 (Mt. Elgon) (on exchange from BMNH, according to Barbour and Loveridge, 1946, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 96: 212), according to R.C. Tinsley in Frost, 1985, Amph. Species World: 427. Lang, 1990, Doc. Trav., Inst. R. Sci. Nat. Belg., 59: 11, regarded IRSNB 1.094 (exchanged from BMNH) as a syntype. Type locality: "Marsabit"; "hot spring of Lake Nakuru"; "Nairobi"); "Lake Naivasha"; "Mt. Elgon, 6000 feet"; "Leikipia, 7-8000 feet", Kenya.

Xenopus borealis — Tymowska and Fischberg, 1973, Chromosoma, Berlin, 44: 336.

Xenopus (Xenopus) borealis — Kobel, Barandun, and Thiebaud, 1998, Herpetol. J., 8: 13.

English Names

Marsabit Clawed Frog (Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 97).

Kenya Smooth Clawed Frog (Ananjeva, Borkin, Darevsky, and Orlov, 1988, Dict. Amph. Rept. Five Languages: 110).

Northern Clawed Frog (Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 240).

Distribution

Savanna in northern Tanzania, and central and northern Kenya, above 1350 m elevation. One record for southern Tanzania.

Comment

Tymowska and Fischberg, 1973, Chromosoma, Berlin, 44: 336, distinguished Xenopus borealis from the Xenopus laevis group by chromosome morphology and suggested closer affinities with Xenopus muelleri. Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 240-241, provided an account and map. Pickersgill, 2007, Frog Search: 55, provided a brief account. Malonza, Lötters, and Measey, 2010, J. E. Afr. Nat. Hist., 99: 54, commented on range, life history, and conservation status in the Taita Hills region of Kenya. Measey, Malonza, and Muchai, 2009, Amph. Taita Hills: 14-15, provided a very brief account and photo for the Taita Hills, Kenya.

External Links

Please note: these links will take you to external websites not affiliated with the American Museum of Natural History. We are not responsible for their content.

• For additional sources of information from other sites search Google
• For images search Arkive, CalPhoto Images and Google Images
• To search the NIH genetic sequence database, see GenBank
• For information aggregation from other sites and some original accounts see AmphibiaWeb report
• For further information on conservation status and distribution see the IUCN Redlist
• For related information on conservation and images as well as observation see iNaturalist;
• for a quick link to their maps see iNaturalist KML