Nimbaphrynoides occidentalis (Angel, 1943)
publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.11287122 |
DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11287248 |
persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03EEFC14-FFB6-FFCB-FCE6-821FA5B47B3D |
treatment provided by |
Felipe |
scientific name |
Nimbaphrynoides occidentalis (Angel, 1943) |
status |
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Nimbaphrynoides occidentalis (Angel, 1943) View in CoL
Nimba Toad
Material: No voucher.
Comments: Nimbaphrynoides occidentalis is a unique toad, being viviparous and endemic to a very limited range of a total of 4 km 2 on the ridges of the Mounts Nimba between Liberia, Guinea, and Ivory Coast ( Lamotte 1959; Lamotte and Sanchez-Lamotte 1999; Hillers et al. 2008b; Sandberger-Loua et al. 2016, 2017). The toads live in montane grasslands above 1,200 m asl, where they go into dormancy during the dry season ( Lamotte 1959; Hillers et al. 2008; Sandberger et al. 2010). Nimbaphrynoides occidentalis comprises two subspecies isolated by a forested mountain ridge: the larger N. occidentalis liberiensis is restricted to one site in Liberia, while N. occidentalis occidentali s occurs in a few sub-populations in Guinea and Ivory Coast ( Sandberger et al. 2010). We found N. occidentalis occidentalis at 1,235 m asl, on very humid steep slopes in the montane grassland (07°35.555’N, 008°25.788’W; 1,235 m asl). Four juveniles and one female were discovered under rocks. The sizes of the juveniles ranged from 12.0‒14.0 mm while the female measured 23.0 mm. The basic dorsal color of the juveniles was dark brown, with a somewhat irregular mixture of light brown and white spots. Their snout, eyelids, and legs were colored light brown. The juveniles showed a pattern typical for adult males ( Fig. 7A View Fig ), whereas the female had a nearly uniform light brown dorsal color ( Fig. 7B View Fig ). The main threat for this species in Ivory Coast is bush fires in the dry season. A detailed assessment of the distribution and population sizes of N. occidentalis occidentalis from Ivory Coast is urgently needed.
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