Phrynomantis bifasciatus (Smith, 1847)

Class: Amphibia > Order: Anura > Family: Microhylidae > Subfamily: Phrynomerinae > Genus: Phrynomantis > Species: Phrynomantis bifasciatus

Brachymerus bifasciatus Smith, 1847, Illust. Zool. S. Afr., 3 (Part 26): pl. 63. Type(s): Not traced; Smith's material in BMNH may be syntypes although they do not correspond exactly with the description, according to Poynton and Broadley, 1985, Ann. Natal Mus., 26: 513. Type locality: "country to the east and north-east of the Cape Colony .... [for example:] On the banks of the Limpopo River, close to the tropic of Capricorn", Limpopo Province, Rep. South Africa.

Dendrobates inhambanensis Bianconi, 1849 "1848", Nuovi Ann. Sci. Nat., Bologna, Ser. 2, 10: 107. Syntypes: MZUB 100177, 100177a, according to Bonfitto, 1991, Boll. Mus. Reg. Sci. Nat. Torino, 9: 366. Type locality: "Mozambico"; restricted to "Inhambane, Mozambico" by Bonfitto, 1991, Boll. Mus. Reg. Sci. Nat. Torino, 9: 366. Synonymy by Peters, 1882, Naturwiss. Reise Mossambique, Zool. 3: 172.

Bombinator (Brachymerus) bifasciatusSchlegel, 1858, Handl. Dierkd., 2: 58.

Phrynomantis bifasciataPeters, 1867, Monatsber. Preuss. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1867: 35; Cope, 1867, J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Ser. 2, 6:192; Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 172.

Phrynomerus bifasciatusNoble, 1926, Am. Mus. Novit., 237: 3. Power, 1927, Trans. R. Soc. S. Afr., 14: 415

Phrynomerus bifasciatus nyasalandensis Hoffman, 1944, Soöl. Navors. Nas. Mus. Bloemfontein, 1: 181. Holotype: NMB A2633, by original designation. Type locality: "Chitiala [= Chitala River], Nyasaland", Malawi, according to Loveridge, 1953, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 110: 395; Poynton and Broadley, 1985, Ann. Natal Mus., 26: 513, who considered this a synonym of Phrynomantis bifasciatus bifasciatus (following Loveridge, 1953, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 110: 329).

Phrynomerus bifasciatus bifasciatus — Loveridge, 1953, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 110: 329, 395.

Phrynomantis bifasciatusDubois, 1988, Alytes, 7: 1-5.

English Names

Two-striped Frog (Wood, 1863, Illust. Nat. Hist., 3: 175).

Red-banded Frog (Wager, 1965, Frogs S. Afr.: 126; Broadley, 1971, Puku, 6: 111; Broadley, 1973, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 10: 22; Van Dijk, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 17: 15; Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 4; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 108).

Two-banded Frog (Van Dijk, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 17: 15).

Banded Rubber Frog (Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 108; Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 234-235; Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 228; Du Preez and Carruthers, 2009, Compl. Guide Frogs S. Afr.: 288).

Red-banded Rubber Frog (Pienaar, 1963, Koedoe, 6: 81; Lambiris, 1990 "1989", Monogr. Mus. Reg. Sci. Nat. Torino, 10: 75)

South African Snake-necked Frog (Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 91).

Distribution

Somalia, southern Kenya, and Dem. Rep. Congo (Katanga Province) to northeastern Rep. South Africa and northern Namibia, northern and eastern Botswana and  and southwestern Angola; eastern lowlands of Rwanda. 

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: Angola, Botswana, Congo, Democratic Republic of the, Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Comment

See comment under Phrynomantis microps. See Poynton and Broadley, 1985, Ann. Natal Mus., 26: 513-514 (as Phrynomerus microps), and Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 234-235. Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 228-230, Du Preez, 2004, in Minter et al. (eds.), Atlas Frogs S. Afr. Lesotho and Swaziland: 199-201, Pickersgill, 2007, Frog Search: 64-66, and Du Preez and Carruthers, 2009, Compl. Guide Frogs S. Afr.: 288-289, provided accounts. Mercurio, 2011, Amph. Malawi: 216-217, provided an account for Malawi. Channing, Rödel, and Channing, 2012, Tadpoles of Africa: 254–255, provided information on comparative larval morphology. Harper, Measey, Patrick, Menegon, and Vonesh, 2010, Field Guide Amph. E. Arc Mts. Tanzania and Kenya: 224–2225, provided a brief account and photograph. Ohler and Frétey, 2014, J. E. Afr. Nat. Hist., 103: 91, provided a brief note of a collection from northern Mozambique. Marques, Ceríaco, Blackburn, and Bauer, 2018, Proc. California Acad. Sci., Ser. 4, 65 (Suppl. II): 80–81, provided a map for Angola and provided a brief account. Phaka, Netherlands, Kruger, and Du Preez, 2017, Bilingual Field Guide Frogs Zululand: 49, provided a photograph, Zululand regional map, and a brief account of life history and identification. Spawls, Wasonga, and Drewes, 2019, Amph. Kenya: 29, provided a range map for Kenya, photograph, and brief characterization. Channing and Rödel, 2019, Field Guide Frogs & Other Amph. Afr.: 108–109, provided a brief account, photograph, and range map. Baptista, António, and Branch, 2019, Amph. Rept. Conserv., 13 (e203): 96–130, reported on specimens from Bicuar National Park, southwestern Angola. Dehling and Sinsch, 2023, Diversity, 15 (512): 1–81, discussed the range, identification, natural history, advertisement call, and conservation status in Rwanda.   

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