Tomopterna wambensis Wasonga and Channing, 2013

Kirchhof, Sebastian, Wasonga, Victor, Mazuch, Tomáš, Spawls, Stephen & Malonza, Patrick Kinyatta, 2023, An annotated checklist of the herpetofauna of the Sibiloi National Park in northern Kenya based on field surveys, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 324) 17 (1 / 2), pp. 1-18 : 5

Tomopterna wambensis Wasonga and Channing, 2013

Vouchers: NMK-1815 (field nos. SK16 1024, SK16 1071, SK16 1084, SK 1111)

Localities: IL (G, R), KA ( R), KF ( R), LO ( R), TBI Remarks: This medium-sized, stout, semi-fossorial frog was quite common in the study area. Its inner metatarsal tubercle is used for digging into the soil of dry riverbeds in order to reach moister areas and survive droughts, and the outer metatarsal tubercle is absent. It can be further identified by its interrupted glandular ridges below the tympanum.

As soon as a few drops of rain fell – often during the night – the buried individuals of T. wambensis ( Fig. 3F ) appeared on the surface. On 28 March 2017, tens to hundreds of individuals were calling in the late morning (0900–1100 h) together with Poyntonophrynus lughensis in a temporary water body created by recent rainfalls in the usually dry bushland in front of the TBI. For one individual, an internal field body temperature ( T b) of 29.4 °C was recorded at an air temperature ( T a) of 30 °C and substrate temperature ( T sub) of 21 °C.

Figures

Fig. 3. Amphibian species recorded during the surveys: (A) Poyntonophrynus lughensis; (B) Sclerophrys xeros; (C) Sclerophrys turkanae; (D) Ptychadena nilotica; (E) Ptychadena cf. schillukorum; and (F) Tomopterna wambensis.