Ptychadena cf. mossambica (Peters, 1854)

Bittencourt-Silva Keywords., Gabriela B., 2019, A herpetological survey of western Zambia, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 181) 13 (2), pp. 1-28 : 11-12

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.13236926
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/038B5822-FF97-E02E-A653-8979FE6DCD2F
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Ptychadena cf. mossambica (Peters, 1854)
status

Treatment

Ptychadena cf. mossambica (Peters, 1854) View in CoL

Mozambique Ridged Frog

Material. ITEZHI-TEZHI: BMNH 2018.5753, BMNH 2018.5754–57; MAYUKUYUKU: BMNH 2018.5763; SIOMA NGWEZI NP: BMNH 2018.5758 –59 ( Fig. 6J View Fig ), BMNH 2018.5760, BMNH 2018.5761. Comments: The key in Poynton and Broadley (1985a) points to P. mossambica , except for the skin folds that are not continuous in these specimens. The authors note that P. mossambica shows an east-west cline in size and degree of webbing, where material from western Zambia tends to be smaller (maximum SVL 28.9 mm) than the series from Mozambique (maximum SVL 52.5 mm). The average SVL of this series is 34 mm. Most specimens have a pair (sometimes two) of large dark blotches on the scapular region. The closest match on GenBank (93–94%) is Ptychadena cf. mossambica from coastal Tanzania (KY177057). These specimens may be referrable to P. mapacha Channing, 1993 , for which there is no available sequence data. Ptychadena mapacha has recently been recorded in Ngonye Falls, south-west Zambia by Pietersen et al. (2017), confirming Channing’s (2001) prediction about its distribution.

Ptychadena nilotica (Seetzen, 1855)

Nile Grass Frog

Material. LIVINGSTONE: BMNH 2018.5781; NANZILA PLAINS: BMNH 2018.5773– 76, BMNH 2018.5777–80. Comments: Specimens collected at night near water in miombo woodland. Sequence similarity with P. nilotica is 98% with KF027211 and 99% with KX836515 from the DRC. For further discussion about this species see Dehling and Sinsch (2013) and Zimkus et al. (2016).

Ptychadena obscura (Schmidt and Inger, 1959) Material. HILLWOOD FARM: BMNH 2018.5766–67 ( Fig. 6K View Fig ), BMNH 2018.5768. Comments: These small specimens ( SVL ranges from 21.8 to 22.8 mm) fit the description of P. obscura in Poynton and Broadley (1985a). The specimens have a pair of dark marks on the scapular region. The results of the BLAST search show higher similarity (97–98%) to P. broadleyi (GenBank accession number MH 300600–02). This is an unexpected finding considering that P. broadleyi is only known to occur in the Mulanje Mountain and the Zomba Plateau, in Malawi. These specimens from Zambia have a light triangle on the snout distinguishing them from P. broadleyi . Hence, the barcoding results should be interpreted with caution.