Pelophylax saharicus (Boulenger, 1913)
Rana esculenta var. Latastei Camerano, 1882 "1881", C. R. Assoc. Franç. Avanc. Sci., Paris, 10: 689. Syntypes: MZUT and MBL, according to XXX. Type locality: "dans la partie nord et ouest de l'Afrique et dans l Portugal; j'en ai examiné plusieurs individus de Tanger, Larache, Casablanca, Mogador, Rabat, dans le Maroc, et aussi quelques exemplaires de l'Algérie". Primary homonym of Rana latastei Boulenger, 1879. Synonymy by Dubois and Ohler, 1996 "1994", Zool. Polon., 39: 168.
Rana esculenta var. latastii — Boulenger, 1883, Zool. Rec., 19: 19. Misspelling.
Rana esculenta var. saharica Boulenger In Hartert, 1913, Novit. Zool., 20: 84. Syntypes: BMNH 1912.11.9.136-145, 1912.11.9.147-156, and 8 unnumbered specimens, according to XXX. Type locality: "in the 'lake' at El-Golea [Golea, Laghout], and in the ditches of the Tidikelt oases called Igosten and In-Salah [= Salah Oasis, Tamanrasset]", Algeria. Restricted to Ain Salah oasis by Eiselt and Schmidtler, 1973, Ann. Naturhist. Mus. Wien, 77: 223. Hemmer, Konrad, and Bachmann, 1980, Amphibia-Reptilia, 1: 41-48, suggested this name may attach to a hybridogenetic hemilineage.
Rana ridibunda saharica — Terentjev, 1927, Zool. Anz., 74: 82.
Rana zavattarii Scortecci, 1936, Atti Soc. Ital. Sci. Nat. Mus. Civ. Stor. Nat. Milano, 75: 135. Syntypes: MSNM (10 specimens); lost according to Dubois and Ohler, 1996 "1994", Zool. Polon., 39: 174. Type locality: "oasi di Elbarkat a pochi chilometri a sud di Gat", Libya. Synonymy (with Rana ridibunda saharica) by Eiselt and Schmidtler, 1973, Ann. Naturhist. Mus. Wien, 77: 232; Salvador, 1996, Smithson. Herpetol. Inform. Serv., 109: 32.
Rana ridibunda riodeoroi Salvador and Peris, 1975 "1974", Bol. Est. Centr. Ecol. Madrid, 4: 49. Holotype: MNCN 9930, by original designation. Type locality: "Huerta al Hatri (Edchera)", Western Sahara. Synonymy by Salvador, 1996, Smithson. Herpetol. Inform. Serv., 109: 32; Dubois and Ohler, 1996 "1994", Zool. Polon., 39: 177.
Rana (Rana) saharica — Dubois, 1987 "1986", Alytes, 5: 41. by implication.
Rana (Pelophylax) saharica — Dubois, 1992, Bull. Mens. Soc. Linn. Lyon, 61: 332.
Rana saharica riodeori — Arano, Llorente, Montori, Buckley, and Herrero, 1998, Herpetol. J., 8: 57-64. Geniez, Mateo, and Bons, 2001 "2000", Herpetozoa, 13: 152.
Rana saharica saharica — Arano, Llorente, Montori, Buckley, and Herrero, 1998, Herpetol. J., 8: 57-64. Geniez, Mateo, and Bons, 2001 "2000", Herpetozoa, 13: 152.
Hylarana saharica — Chen, Murphy, Lathrop, Ngo, Orlov, Ho, and Somorjai, 2005, Herpetol. J., 15: 237. by implication.
Pelophylax saharicus — Frost, Grant, Faivovich, Bain, Haas, Haddad, de Sá, Channing, Wilkinson, Donnellan, Raxworthy, Campbell, Blotto, Moler, Drewes, Nussbaum, Lynch, Green, and Wheeler, 2006, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 297: 369. Che, Pang, Zhao, Wu, Zhao, and Zhang, 2007, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 43: 1-13; by implication.
English Names
Sahara Frog (Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 109).
Distribution
Morocco (and adjacent Western Sahara) to Tunisia and northern Libya, Siwa Oasis, northwestern Egypt. Also known from localities near the Hoggar Massic in southern Algeria; Ceuta and Melilla (Spain).
Comment
Prior to Uzzell, 1982, Amphibia-Reptilia, 3: 135-143 (who provisionally resurrected the name), this species was considered to be a synonym of Rana perezi, or, following Pasteur and Bons, 1959, Trav. Inst. Scient. Chérifien, Rabat, Ser. Zool., 17: 1-241, a synonym of Rana ridibunda. Although northwest African members of the "Pelophylax esculentus" complex are here tentatively regarded as Pelophylax saharicus, Hemmer, Konrad, and Bachmann, 1980, Amphibia-Reptilia, 1: 41-48, suggested that two species were hybridizing in North Africa. Steinwarz and Schneider, 1991, Bonn. Zool. Beitr., 42: 283-297, considered Rana saharica to likely be a junior synonym of Rana perezi. Populations of the "Rana esculenta" complex of Arabia are not currently allocated to species. See Salvador, 1996, Smithson. Herpetol. Inform. Serv., 109, for account. See Plötner, 1998, J. Zool. Syst. Evol. Res., 36: 191-201, for discussion of relationships who suggested a sister-taxon relationship with Rana perezi. Arano, Llorente, Montori, Buckley, and Herrero, 1998, Herpetol. J., 8: 57-64, discussed population-level phylogeny and biogeography. See Geniez, Mateo, and Bons, 2001 "2000", Herpetozoa, 13: 152, for Western Sahara record. Casola, Marracci, Bucci, Ragghianti, Mancino, Hotz, Uzzell, and Guex, 2004, J. Zool. Syst. Evol. Res., 42: 234-244, provided a molecular tree of western Palearctic water frogs (as Rana) in the topology Rana saharica (Pelophylax cretensis (Pelophylax perezi (Pelophylax shqipericus (Pelophylax epeiroticus ("Pelophylax lessonae" + Pelophylax ridibundus))))). Baha El Din, 2006, Guide Rept. Amph. Egypt: 43-45, provided an account for Egypt. Geniez, Mateo, Geniez, and Pether, 2004, Amph. Rept. W. Sahara: 39-41, provided a brief account for Western Sahara. Amor, Farjallah, and Said, 2009, Afr. Zool., 44: 194-203, reported on geographic variation in Tunisia. Amor, Farjallah, Ben-Yacoub, Merella, and Said, 2010, Curr. Zool., Chengdu, 56: 678-686, reported on significant morphometric variation among populations in Algeria and Tunisia. Farjallah, Amor, Merella, and Said, 2012, Pakistan J. Zool., 44: 901-907, reported on patterns of genetic diversity in Tunisia.
External Links
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