Ptychadena perreti Guibé and Lamotte, 1958

Badjedjea, Gabriel, Masudi, Franck M., Akaibe, Benjamin Dudu & Gvoždík, Václav, 2022, Amphibians of Kokolopori: an introduction to the amphibian fauna of the Central Congolian Lowland Forests, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 301) 16 (1), pp. 35-70 : 61

Ptychadena perreti Guibé and Lamotte, 1958

Fig. 10F.

Area: Yalokole, Yetee.

Season/survey: Wet (May 2018, Nov 2018).

Material: CSB:Herp: RNBK 008, 029, 032, 051, 059, 115, 127, 133, 134, 145, 148, 161, 180, 228, 396, 444, 526, 640, 646; IVB-H-CD 18069, 18166, 18167.

Comments: Ptychadena perreti was described from southern Cameroon ( Guibé and Lamotte 1958), and is believed to be distributed in western Central Africa and north of the Congo River to northeastern DRC ( Channing and Rödel 2019; IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group 2020). Our Kokolopori material provides evidence for a geographic range extension into the Central Congolian forests. Based on the publicly available genetic data (our own review of data), “ P. christyi ” from Uganda (Bundibugyo; GenBank No. GQ 183595) represents misidentified P. perreti , proving evidence for the presence of this species also in western Uganda. Similarly, “ P. bibroni ” (or P. aff. bibroni ) from Gabon (GenBank AY517604; Vences et al. 2004) and “ P. cf. aequiplicata ” from Cameroon (Mt. Kupe; GenBank KX671789; Portik et al. 2016) both represent misidentified P. perreti , as well as “ Ptychadena sp. B ” from the Republic of the Congo ( Deichmann et al. 2017). In the past, this species was probably at least partially misidentified as “ P. oxyrhynchus ” (originally in the genus Rana ) in the Congo, as the photograph published by Noble (1924) with this name most probably depicts P. perreti . All these past misidentifications have caused further confusion in the identification of this species. Ptychadena perreti is a widespread inhabitant of the forested zone of Central Africa. However, it is usually found in degraded forests, shrubs, and farmbush. In Kokolopori, we found it in swampy places along streams, usually in disturbed forest.

Figures

Fig. 10. Phrynobatrachids (Phrynobatrachus), ptychadenids (Ptychadena), and a pyxicephalid (Aubria). (A) Phrynobatrachus sp. aff. auritus (male). (B) Ph. cf. giorgii (male). (C) Ph. cf. auritus (male). (D) Ptychadena aequiplicata (female). (E) Pt. christyi (male), extralimital specimen from Mosite (0.956°N, 23.560°E). (F) Pt. perreti (male). (G) Pt. sp. aff. mascareniensis (male). (H) Aubria masako (male).