Hemisus microscaphus Laurent, 1972

Class: Amphibia > Order: Anura > Family: Hemisotidae > Genus: Hemisus > Species: Hemisus microscaphus

Hemisus microscaphus Laurent, 1972, Ann. Mus. R. Afr. Cent., Tervuren, Ser. Octavo, Sci. Zool., 194: 38. Holotype: MCZ field number 19396, by original designation; the current collection number according to museum records is MCZ A-86795. Type locality: "lake Zwai, Ethiopia".

English Names

Lake Zwai Shovelnose Frog (Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 51).

Ethiopian Shovelnose Frog (Largen and Spawls, 2010, Amph. Rept. Ethiopia Eritrea: 104).

Ethiopian Piglet Frog (Channing and Rödel, 2019, Field Guide Frogs & Other Amph. Afr.: 114). 

Distribution

Marshy situations and in the vicinity of streams flowing through open grassland at altitudes of 2200–2700 m on the western plateau of Ethiopia, but descends to lower elevations in the moist tropical deciduous forests which clothe the southwestern slopes, down to about 1500 m near Abiu.

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: Ethiopia

Endemic: Ethiopia

Comment

See Largen, 1997, Tropical Zool., 10: 271-285, for account and comparisons. Largen, 2001, Tropical Zool., 14: 360-361, commented on distribution. See also account by Largen, 1997, Tropical Zool., 10: 271-285, in which he suggests a close relationship with Hemisus olivaceus. See account, photograph, and map for Ethiopia by Largen and Spawls, 2010, Amph. Rept. Ethiopia Eritrea: 104-105. Channing, Rödel, and Channing, 2012, Tadpoles of Africa: 179–182, reported on comparative tadpole morphology. Kassie Teme, 2016, J. Zool. Stud., 3(4): 1–6, reported a population from Mengeha (Ambiki) and Alelitu Rivern in orthwestern Ethiopia. Channing and Rödel, 2019, Field Guide Frogs & Other Amph. Afr.: 114–115, provided a brief account, photograph, and range map. Kassie Teme, Bekele Simegn, and Afework Bogale, 2022, Global Ecol. Conserv., 38 (e02211): 1–12, reported the species from Keffa Zone, southwestern Ethiopia, and discussed habitat.

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