Hyperolius lamottei Laurent, 1958

Kanga, Kouassi Philippe, Kouamé, N’Goran Germain, Zogbassé, Parfait, Gongomin, Basseu Aude-Inès, Agoh, Konan Laurent, Kouamé, Akoua Michèle, Konan, Jean Christophe B. Y. N., Adepo-Gourène, Abouo Béatrice, Gourène, Germain & Rödel, Mark-Oliver, 2021, Amphibian diversity of a West African biodiversity hotspot: an assessment and commented checklist of the batrachofauna of the Ivorian part of the Nimba Mountains, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 275) 15 (1), pp. 71-107 : 86

Hyperolius lamottei Laurent, 1958

Lamotte’s Reed Frog

Material: One female, NGK-Nimba 0074 ( Fig. 9E ), and two males, NGK-Nimba 0081 ( Fig. 9F ), NGK-Nimba 0082 .

Comments: Hyperolius lamottei is a savannah frog with a patchy distribution, preferring low grass habitats, often in higher altitude, e.g., granite inselbergs in central-southern Ivory Coast, Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone to Senegal ( Arnoult and Lamotte 1958; Lamotte 1969, 1971; Schiøtz 1967; Rödel et al. 2004). Recently, it was reported for the first time from Burkina Faso ( Ayoro et al. 2020). In Ivory Coast, the species was recorded from the Lamto Faunal Reserve ( Schiøtz 1967) and the Mount Péko National Park (Rödel and Ernst 2003). However, more recently Adeba et al. (2010) failed to re-detect the species in Lamto. We found H. lamottei in large numbers in grassy montane pasture (07°35.258’N, 008°25.052’W; 821 m asl). The species was only active during the rainy season, when males and females became active after sunset. They spent the night perching on high grasses which covered a flooded iron-oxide quartzite ground. During the daytime all frogs hid within the dense herbaceous vegetation. Body size of males ranged from 17.5–19.0 mm (N = 4), females measured 21.5–23.5 mm (N = 3). Color pattern was variable, but within the range described by Schiøtz (1967).

Figures

Fig. 9. Hyperoliid frogs from Mount Nimba Integrated Nature Reserve: Hyperolius concolor female (A); H. concolor male (B); H. fusciventris fusciventris male (C); H. guttulatus female (D); H. lamottei female (E); H. lamottei male (F); H. nimbae female (G); H. nimbae male (H).