Amietia vertebralis (Hewitt, 1927)
Rana vertebralis Hewitt, 1927, Rec. Albany Mus., 3: 404. Holotype: AMG , by original designation; now PEM A1550, according to Tarrant, Cunningham, and Du Preez, 2008, Zootaxa, 1962: 37. Type locality: "from a stream near the summit of Mont-aux-Sources, at the source of the Tugela River", Lesotho. See Tarrant, Cunningham, and Du Preez, 2008, Zootaxa, 1962: 33-48, for discussion of the confusing application of this name in the literature predominantly to what is now Amietia umbraculata and the possible imprecision of the type locality.
Phrynobatrachus lawrencei FitzSimons, 1947, Ann. Natal Mus., 11: 119. Holotype: NMP 699, by original designation. Type locality: "Champagne Castle (7000 ft.), Drakensberg, Natal", Rep. South Africa. Synonymy by Poynton, 1964, Ann. Natal Mus., 17: 118.
Rana draconensis FitzSimons, 1948, Spec. Publ. R. Soc. S. Afr.: 236. Holotype: NMP 734, by original designation. Type locality: "Mont-aux Sources Summit (10,000 feet), Drakensberg, Natal", Rep. South Africa. Synonymy by Poynton, 1964, Ann. Natal Mus., 17: 119.
Rana (Amietia) vertebralis — Dubois, 1987 "1986", Alytes, 5: 49. Dubois, 1992, Bull. Mens. Soc. Linn. Lyon, 61: 322. Presumably based on specimens of Rana umbraculata.
Amietia vertebralis — Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 264. Based on specimens of Amietia umbraculata. (See Amietia umbraculata account for explanation of the nomenclatural issue.)
Amietia vertebralis — Tarrant, Cunningham, and Du Preez, 2008, Zootaxa, 1962: 42.
English Names
Drakensberg Rana (Wager, 1965, Frogs S. Afr.: 154; Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 5; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 144).
Drakensberg Frog (Van Dijk, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 17: 15).
Berg Stream Frog (Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 5; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 144; Channing, 2004, in Minter et al. (eds.), Atlas Frogs S. Afr. Lesotho and Swaziland: 313-314).
Natal Drakensberg Frog (Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 107).
Drakensberg Stream Frog (Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 357).
Phofung River Frog (Tarrant, Cunningham, and Du Preez, 2008, Zootaxa, 1962: 45; Du Preez and Carruthers, 2009, Compl. Guide Frogs S. Afr.: 408).
Distribution
High elevations of northeastern Lesotho and immediately adjacent Rep. South Africa.
Comment
See accounts (as Strongylopus hymenopus) by Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 357-359, and Channing, 2004, in Minter et al. (eds.), Atlas Frogs S. Afr. Lesotho and Swaziland: 313-314. See account (as Strongylopus hymenopus) by Lambiris, 1988, Lammergeyer, 39: 96-97, who suggested that this name may cover a cryptic and undescribed species whose tadpoles he described (pp. 101-102). Tarrant, Cunningham, and Du Preez, 2008, Zootaxa, 1962: 33-48, discussed the confusing history of the application of the names involved. Du Preez and Carruthers, 2009, Compl. Guide Frogs S. Afr.: 408-409, provided an account. Kruger, Weldon, and Du Preez, 2011, Afr. Zool., 46: 309-319, discussed the morphological disitinctiveness of this species and Amietia umbraculata.
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
