Leptopelis kivuensis Ahl, 1929

Class: Amphibia > Order: Anura > Family: Arthroleptidae > Subfamily: Leptopelinae > Genus: Leptopelis > Species: Leptopelis kivuensis

Leptopelis kivuensis Ahl, 1929, Sitzungsber. Ges. Naturforsch. Freunde Berlin, 1929: 206. Holotype: ZMB unnumbered, according to the original publication. Type locality: "Kisenji, südlich des Kivu-Sees", Rwanda.

Leptopelis graueri Ahl, 1929, Sitzungsber. Ges. Naturforsch. Freunde Berlin, 1929: 213. Holotype: ZMB unnumbered, according to the original publication. Type locality: "70 km westlich des Südendes des Albert-Edward-See's". Synonymy by Laurent, 1972, Explor. Parc Natl. Virunga, Ser. 2, 22: 47. Formerly considered a synonym of Leptopelis karissimbensis by De Witte, 1941, Explor. Parc Natl. Albert, Miss. G.F. de Witte (1933–1935), 33: 94.

Leptopelis rugegensis Ahl, 1929, Sitzungsber. Ges. Naturforsch. Freunde Berlin, 1929: 218. Syntypes: ZMB (4 specimens) unnumbered, according to the original publication; MCZ 17531 (on exchange from ZMB) is a syntype according to Barbour and Loveridge, 1946, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 96: 141, status unknown. Type locality: "Rugege-Wald, Deutsch-Ost-Afrika". Synonymy by Laurent, 1972, Explor. Parc Natl. Virunga, Ser. 2, 22: 47. Formerly considered a synonym of Leptopelis karissimbensis by Loveridge, 1936, Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Publ., Zool. Ser., 22: 102.

English Names

Kisenyi Forest Treefrog (Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 69).

Kivu Tree Frog (Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 204).

Distribution

On the east side of the Albertine Rift in the highlands of western Rwanda, Burundi; west of the Albertine Rift from adjacent North and South Kivu province, Dem. Rep. Congo; unnamed species (see comment) noted in a) southwestern Rwanda and northwestern Burundi; b) northwestern Rwanda and southwestern Uganda; c) and south-central Burundi; and d) eastern North Kivu Province, Dem. Rep. Congo. 

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: Burundi, Congo, Democratic Republic of the, Rwanda, Uganda

Comment

Redescribed as new by Ahl, 1931, Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berlin, 17: 26. See account by Laurent, 1972, Explor. Parc Natl. Virunga, Ser. 2, 22: 47, who removed Leptopelis kivuensis from the synonymy of Leptopelis karissimbensis, where it had been placed by De Witte, 1941, Explor. Parc Natl. Albert, Miss. G.F. de Witte (1933–1935), 33: 94, and suggested a widespread distribution. Schiøtz, 1999, Treefrogs Afr.: 273, provided a brief account and map and suggested the possibility of considerable confusion with Leptopelis karissimbensis, and gave a much restricted distribution for Leptopelis kivuensis (montane forest from eastern Dem. Rep. Congo and southwestern Uganda). The status of populations in the larger stated distribution is unclear. Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 204-205, provided an account. See statement of geographic range, habitat, and conservation status in Stuart, Hoffmann, Chanson, Cox, Berridge, Ramani, and Young, 2008, Threatened Amph. World: 618. Roelke, Greenbaum, Chifundera, Aristote, and Smith, 2011, J. Herpetol., 45: 343-351, discussed the systematics and range of this species and the very similar Leptopelis karissimbensisChanning, Rödel, and Channing, 2012, Tadpoles of Africa: 112, reported on comparative tadpole morphology. Portillo, Greenbaum, Menegon, Chifundera, and Dehling, 2015, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 82: 75–86, discussed the phylogeography of the species, noting that nominal Leptopelis kivuensis is a complex, with at least two unnamed associates on the east side of the Albertine Rift in Uganda, Rwanda, Dem. Rep. Congo, and Uganda. Channing and Rödel, 2019, Field Guide Frogs & Other Amph. Afr.: 222–223, provided a brief account, photograph, and range map. Dehling and Sinsch, 2023, Diversity, 15 (512): 1–81, discussed the range, identification, natural history, advertisement call, and conservation status. Behangana, Byaruhanga, Magala, Katumba, Kagurusi, Dendi, and Luiselli, 2023, Wetlands, 43(88): 1–13, reported on presence in the wetlands of southwestern Uganda.

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