Arthroleptis stenodactylus Pfeffer, 1893

Class: Amphibia > Order: Anura > Family: Arthroleptidae > Subfamily: Arthroleptinae > Genus: Arthroleptis > Species: Arthroleptis stenodactylus

Arthroleptis stenodactylus Pfeffer, 1893, Jahrb. Hamburg. Wiss. Anst., 10: 93. Holotype: ZMH; presumably destroyed in World War II. Type locality: "Kihengo", Tanzania.

Arthroleptis whytii Boulenger, 1897, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1897: 802. Syntypes: BMNH (5 specimens), by original designation, these being 1947.2.6.44–48 according to museum records. Type locality: "Kondowe to Karonga; Nyika Plateau; Muska Mts.", Malawi; restricted to "Masuku Mts." by Loveridge, 1953, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 110: 389, who discussed problems with the type localities, and who also considered this taxon to be species distinct from Arthroleptis stenodactylus. Poynton, 1964, Ann. Natal Mus., 17: 163–164, rejected any taxonomic distinction from Arthroleptis stenodactylus. Original synonymy by Loveridge, 1925, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1925: 781.

Arthroleptis lönnbergi Nieden, 1915, Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berlin, 7: 361. Holotype: ZMB 24535, according to D. Blackburn (personal commun.). Type locality: "Mombo in Usambara [Mountains]", Tanzania. Synonymy by Barbour and Loveridge, 1928, Mem. Mus. Comp. Zool., 50: 207, and Blackburn, 2010, Herpetologica, 66: 322; but see Pickersgill, 2007, Frog Search: 305–307, and comment.

Arthroleptis methneri Ahl, 1924, Arch. Naturgesch., Abt. A,, 90: 251. Holotype: ZMB unnumbered according to the original publication. ZMB 26866 is the holotype according to D. Blackburn (personal commun.). Type locality: "Deutsch-Ost-Afrika, (Matumbi-Höhlen), gesammelt 800 m vom Ausgang der Ntuli-Höhlen" (= Nangoma Cave, Matumbi near Kilwa, Tanzania). Synonymy by Barbour and Loveridge, 1928, Mem. Mus. Comp. Zool., 50: 207.

Arthroleptis stenodactylus uluguruensis Loveridge, 1932, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 45: 61. Holotype: MCZ 16100, by original designation. Type locality: "from between 7,000 and 8,000 feet at Nyingwa, Uluguru Mountains, Tanganyika Territory [Tanzania]". Status rejected by Loveridge, 1936, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 79: 372.

Arthroleptis vagus Ahl, 1939 "1938", Sitzungsber. Ges. Naturforsch. Freunde Berlin, 1938: 306. Syntypes: 2 specimens by original designation, presumably in ZMB. Type locality: "Usambara [Mts.]", Tanzania. Synonymy by Loveridge, 1942, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 91: 379; Frétey, 2008, Alytes, 25: 127.

Arthroleptis ukamiensis Ahl, 1939 "1938", Sitzungsber. Ges. Naturforsch. Freunde Berlin, 1938: 308. Holotype: Not stated; holotype is ZMB 21792, according to D. Blackburn (personal commun.). Type locality: "Ukami", Tanzania. Synonymy by Loveridge, 1942, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 91: 379. (Not clear at present whether this is a synonym of Arthroleptis stenodactylus or Arthroleptis lonnbergi—DRF.)

Arthroleptis (Arthroleptis) stenodactylusLaurent, 1941 "1940", Rev. Zool. Bot. Afr., 34: 85.

Arthroleptis (Arthroleptis) lönnbergiLaurent, 1941 "1940", Rev. Zool. Bot. Afr., 34: 85.

Arthroleptis (Coracodichus) whytiiLaurent, 1941 "1940", Rev. Zool. Bot. Afr., 34: 85.

Arthroleptis whyteiDe Witte, 1952, Result. Sci., Explor. Hydrobiol. Lac Tanganyika (1946–47), 3: 7. Incorrect subsequent spelling.

Arthroleptis stenodactylus whytiiLoveridge, 1953, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 110: 389.

Abroscaphus stenodactylus stenodactylusLaurent, 1957, Rev. Zool. Bot. Afr., 56: 274–275, by implication.

Abroscaphus stenodactylus whytiiLaurent, 1957, Rev. Zool. Bot. Afr., 56: 274–275, by implication.

Coracodichus stenodactylus stenodactylusLaurent, 1964, Publ. Cult. Companhia Diamantes Angola, 67: 144.

Arthroleptis stenodactylus — Laurent, 1985, in Frost (ed.), Amph. Species World: 15; 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: 336.

Coracodichus stenodactylusLaurent and Fabrezi, 1986 "1985", Alytes, 4: 86.

Arthroleptis lonnbergiFrost, 2007, Amph. Spec. World, vers. 5.1. Mandatory spelling change.

English Names

Dune Squeaker (Wager, 1965, Frogs S. Afr.: 178; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 208).

Savanna Squeaking Frog (Broadley, 1973, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 10: 23; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 208; Ananjeva, Borkin, Darevsky, and Orlov, 1988, Dict. Amph. Rept. Five Languages: 112).

Narrow-footed Humus Frog (Van Dijk, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 17: 16).

Shovel-footed Squeaker (Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 208; Ananjeva, Borkin, Darevsky, and Orlov, 1988, Dict. Amph. Rept. Five Languages: 112; Channing, 2004, in Minter et al. (eds.), Atlas Frogs S. Afr. Lesotho and Swaziland: 51; Du Preez and Carruthers, 2009, Compl. Guide Frogs S. Afr.: 80).

Common Squeaker (Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 208; Ananjeva, Borkin, Darevsky, and Orlov, 1988, Dict. Amph. Rept. Five Languages: 112; Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 45; Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 53).

Shovel-footed Bush Squeaker (Lambiris, 1990 "1989", Monogr. Mus. Reg. Sci. Nat. Torino, 10: 134).

Kihengo Screeching Frog (Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 37).

Long-fingered Squeaker (Channing and Rödel, 2019, Field Guide Frogs & Other Amph. Afr.: 268).

Distribution

Southern and eastern Dem. Rep. Congo to north-central Angola, to coastal Kenya and southern and eastern Tanzania and south through Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Mozambique to northern KwaZulu-Natal (Rep. South Africa); isolated populations in Bwindi and Budongo Forest of western Uganda, Nyumbeni Hills of central Kenya, northern Botswana; presumably in the Caprivi Strip of Namibia.

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: Angola, Botswana, Congo, Democratic Republic of the, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Comment

Laurent, 1941 "1940", Rev. Zool. Bot. Afr., 34: 85, proposed the subgenus Coracodichus for this species. Most subsequent authors have treated, without comment, Coracodichus as a synonym of Arthroleptis. See Poynton and Broadley, 1985, Ann. Natal Mus., 26: 539, Lambiris, 1988, Lammergeyer, 39: 117–118, and Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 45, for accounts. Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 53–54, provided a brief account and map for East Africa. Channing, 2004, in Minter et al. (eds.), Atlas Frogs S. Afr. Lesotho and Swaziland: 51–52, provided an account for South Africa. Arthroleptis lonnbergi was removed from the synonymy of Arthroleptis stenodactylus (which he considered a species complex) on the basis of call differences by Pickersgill, 2007, Frog Search: 305–307, where it had been placed by Barbour and Loveridge, 1928, Mem. Mus. Comp. Zool., 50: 207. Frétey, 2008, Alytes, 25: 99–172, summarized the literature. Du Preez and Carruthers, 2009, Compl. Guide Frogs S. Afr.: 82–83, provided a brief account and photograph. Blackburn, 2010, Herpetologica, 66: 322, disputed the resurrection of Arthroleptis lonnbergi and regarded this taxon as morphologically indistinguishable from Arthroleptis stenodactylusMercurio, 2009, J. Herpetol., 43: 345–350, reported on the advertisement call. Mercurio, 2011, Amph. Malawi: 82–86, provided an account for Malawi. See comments by See comments on identifications and range by Loader, Poynton, Lawson, Blackburn, and Menegon, 2011, Fieldiana, Life Earth Sci., 4: 94. Harper, Measey, Patrick, Menegon, and Vonesh, 2010, Field Guide Amph. E. Arc Mts. Tanzania and Kenya: 52–53, provided a brief account for the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania and Kenya. Ohler and Frétey, 2014, J. E. Afr. Nat. Hist., 103: 77–79, discussed the species in extreme northern Mozambique. Conradie, Bittencourt-Silva, Engelbrecht, Loader, Menegon, Nanvonamuquitxo, Scott, and Tolley, 2016, Zoosyst. Evol., Berlin, 92: 163–180, reported populations from Mounts Mabu and Namuli (Zambezia Province) and Mount M'pàluwé (Nampula Province), Mozambique. Marques, Ceríaco, Blackburn, and Bauer, 2018, Proc. California Acad. Sci., Ser. 4, 65 (Suppl. II): 120, provided a map and brief account for Angola. Du Preez and Carruthers, 2009, Compl. Guide Frogs S. Afr.: 82–83, provided an account (identification, conservation status, call, range, and habitat). Phaka, Netherlands, Kruger, and Du Preez, 2017, Bilingual Field Guide Frogs Zululand: 18, provided a photograph, Zululand regional map, and a brief account of life history and identification. See Bittencourt-Silva, 2019, Amph. Rept. Conserv., 13 (2: e181): 4, for comments on systematics, morphology, and ecology in western Zambia. Spawls, Wasonga, and Drewes, 2019, Amph. Kenya: 6, provided a range map for Kenya, photograph, and brief characterization. Channing and Rödel, 2019, Field Guide Frogs & Other Amph. Afr.: 268–269, provided a brief account, photograph, and range map. Bittencourt-Silva, Bayliss, and Conradie, 2020, Amph. Rept. Conserv., 14 (2: e247): 198–271, reported the species from Mounts Licoand Socone, Ile District, Zambezia Province, northeast-central Mozambique and discussed that at least two species are masquerading under this name. Conradie, Keates, Verburgt, Baptista, and Harvey, 2023, Amph. Rept. Conserv., 17: 21, provided a brief account and dot map of the species in Angola. 

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