Ptychadena taenioscelis Laurent, 1954
Ptychadena taenioscelis Laurent, 1954, Ann. Mus. R. Congo Belge, Tervuren, Zool., 34: 25. Holotype: MRAC 13122, by original designation. Type locality: "Lukula, prčs de Kiambi, Tanganyika [Province]," Dem. Rep. Congo.
Ptychadena pumilio taenioscelis — Laurent, 1954, Ann. Mus. R. Congo Belge, Tervuren, Zool., 34: 25. Perret, 1979, Bull. Soc. Neuchatel. Sci. Nat., 102: 15 [by implication].
Ptychadena taeioscelis — Guibé and Lamotte, 1958, Bull. Inst. Franç. Afr. Noire, Ser. A, 20: 1453. Lamotte, Perret, and Dzieduszycka, 1959, Bull. Inst. Franç. Afr. Noire, Ser. A, 21: 1336.
Rana (Ptychadena) taenioscelis — Guibé and Lamotte, 1958, Bull. Inst. Franç. Afr. Noire, Ser. A, 20: 1453. by implication; Schmidt and Inger, 1959, Explor. Parc Natl. Upemba, Miss. G.F. de Witte, 56: 109; Mertens, 1971, Abh. Senckenb. Naturforsch. Ges., 529: 17; Dubois, 1981, Monit. Zool. Ital., N.S., Suppl., 15: 233; by implication.
Ptychadena smithi Guibé, 1960, Bull. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. Paris, Ser. 2, 32: 202. Syntypes: NMP 247 (2 specimens), by original designation. Type locality: "Mseleni, Lake Sibayi, Zululand", KwaZulu-Natal, Rep. South Africa. Synonymy by Poynton, 1964, Ann. Natal Mus., 17: 132. Synonymy not accepted; without discussion, by Dubois, 1992, Bull. Mens. Soc. Linn. Lyon, 61: 316.
Rana taenioscelis — Inger, 1968, Explor. Parc Natl. Garamba, Miss. H. de Saeger, 52: 84.
Ptychadena (Ptychadena) taenioscelis — Dubois, 1992, Bull. Mens. Soc. Linn. Lyon, 61: 316.
Ptychadena (Ptychadena) smithi — Dubois, 1992, Bull. Mens. Soc. Linn. Lyon, 61: 316.
English Names
Dwarf Rana (Wager, 1965, Frogs S. Afr.: 160; Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 5; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 162).
Stripe-legged Frog (Van Dijk, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 17: 15).
Dwarf Grass Frog (Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 5; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 162; Minter and Passmore, 2004, in Minter et al. (eds.), Atlas Frogs S. Afr. Lesotho and Swaziland: 294; Du Preez and Carruthers, 2009, Compl. Guide Frogs S. Afr.: 324).
Spotted Throated Ridged Frog (Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 5; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 162).
Lukula Grassland Frog (Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 106).
Small Ridged Frog (Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 341; Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 315; Lötters, Wagner, Bwong, Schick, Malonza, Muchai, Wasonga, and Veith, 2007, Fieldguide Amph. Rept. Kakamega Forest: 25).
Distribution
Northeastern KwaZulu-Natal, Rep. South Africa, to northern Mozambique along the coastal plains, Malawi, northern Botswana and the Caprivi Strip of Namibia, Angola, southern Dem. Rep. Congo, Tanzania, and western Kenya; possibly in Gabon and western Rep. Congo; reported in north-east-central Central African Republic.
Comment
Discussed by Perret, 1979, Bull. Soc. Neuchatel. Sci. Nat., 102: 15, as subspecies of Ptychadena pumilio. Removed from the synonymy of Ptychadena pumilio by Poynton and Broadley, 1985, Ann. Natal Mus., 27: 153, who mentioned that Perret (in litt.) disputed the synonymy of of Ptychadena smithi Guibé, 1960. See also Poynton, 1964, Ann. Natal Mus., 17: 132. Account in Schmidt and Inger, 1959, Explor. Parc Natl. Upemba, Miss. G.F. de Witte, 56: 109-111. See also brief account by Lambiris, 1988, Lammergeyer, 39: 85-86. Rödel, 2000, Herpetofauna W. Afr., 1: 95, discussed briefly the issue of possible conspecificity of this species with Ptychadena pumilio. Records of Ptychadena pumilio in South Africa refer to Ptychadena taenioscelis. See accounts by Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 341-342, Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 315-316, Minter and Passmore, 2004, in Minter et al. (eds.), Atlas Frogs S. Afr. Lesotho and Swaziland: 294-296, Lötters, Wagner, Bwong, Schick, Malonza, Muchai, Wasonga, and Veith, 2007, Fieldguide Amph. Rept. Kakamega Forest: 25-26, and Du Preez and Carruthers, 2009, Compl. Guide Frogs S. Afr.: 324. Schiřtz, 1963, Vidensk. Medd. Dansk Naturhist. Foren., 125: 24, provided records for Nigeria. Lötters, Rotich, Koester, Kosuch, Muchai, Scheelke, Schick, Teege, Wasonga, and Veith, 2006, Salamandra, 42: 165 -179, provided a Kenyan locality. Pauwels and Rödel, 2007, Herpetozoa, 19: 135-148, tentatively regarded Ptychadena taenioscelis as synonymous with Ptychadena pumilio. Pickersgill, 2007, Frog Search: 147-150, provided an account and rejected any close relationship of Ptychadena taenioscelis and Ptychadena pumilio. Jacobsen, 2009, Afr. Herp News, 47: 2-20, reported this species from east-north-central Central African Republic. Bwong, Chira, Schick, Veith, and Lötters, 2009, Salamandra, 45: 129-146, discussed the assignment of a population in western Kenya to this taxon and outstanding questions regarding the systematics of this species. Mercurio, 2011, Amph. Malawi: 268-270, provided an account for Malawi.
External Links
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- 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;
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