Ptychadena uzungwensis (Loveridge, 1932)

Conradie, Werner, Keates, Chad, Verburgt, Luke, Baptista, Ninda L. & Harvey, James, 2023, Contributions to the herpetofauna of the Angolan Okavango- Cuando-Zambezi river drainages. Part 3: Amphibians, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 325) 17 (1), pp. 19-56 : 47

Ptychadena uzungwensis (Loveridge, 1932)

Udzungwa Ridged Frog ( Fig. 35 ; Map 34 )

Material (56 specimens, 7 tadpole lots): PEM A12482–3, Cuanavale River source lake, -13.08537° 18.89098°, 1,360 m asl; PEM A12493, river crossing before Samanunga village, -12.93169° 18.81458°, 1,363 m asl; PEM A12570–2, Cuito River source lake, -12.68935° 18.36012°, 1,431 m asl; PEM A12609–11, PEM A14117 (tadpoles), Calua River source, 6 km SE of Cuito River source, -12.73675° 18.39310°, 1,445 m asl; PEM A12641, Cuanavale River, -13.29236° 18.96283°, 1,314 m asl; PEM A12717–8, Lungwebungu River camp bridge crossing, -12.58347° 18.66598°, 1,304 m asl; PEM A12761–3, Cuando River Source, -13.00346° 19.12751°, 1,353 m asl; PEM A12769, Cuando River source, trap 1, -13.00393° 19.12808°, 1,351 m asl; PEM A12813–4, Cuito River source lake, -12.68727° 18.36067°, 1,424 m asl; PEM A12826, Quembo River, trap 3, -13.13073° 19.03725°, 1,453 m asl; PEM A12831–3, Culua River source, -12.73723° 18.39340°, 1,450 m asl; PEM A12838, 31 km W of Menongue, Cueli River, -14.70511° 17.38014°, 1,392 m asl; PEM A12899–900, PEM A12903–5, Quembo River source lake, -13.13624° 19.04591°, 1,366 m asl; PEM A13752– 5, Lungwebungu River campsite, -12.58319° 18.66573°, 1,284 m asl; PEM A13814, Lake Tchanssengwe, -12.41403° 18.64418°, 1,393 m asl; PEM A13816, John’s crossing before village, -12.20672° 18.06236°, 1,387 m asl; PEM A14083 (tadpoles), Longa rice paddies, Longa River, -14.56356° 18.44367°, 1,277 m asl; PEM A14084 (tadpoles), Cuanavale River source, -13.09033° 18.89396°, 1,359 m asl; PEM A14087 (tadpoles), 4 km upstream from Cuanavale River source, -13.05084° 18.89726°, 1,380 m asl; PEM A14093, (tadpoles) series of pans south of Tempué village, -13.55719° 18.85519°, 1,315 m asl; PEM A14095 (tadpoles), Dala River, near Samanunga village, -12.93169° 18.81458°, 1,363 m asl; PEM A14100 (tadpoles), 4 km downstream from Cuanavale River source camp, -13.11585° 18.90246°, 1,354 m asl; PEM A14692, Lungwebungu River camp, machamba (cultivated areas) on left side of river, -12.58276° 18.66556°, 1,295 m asl; PEM A14695, Lungwebungu River camp, right bank past first oxbow, -12.58077° 18.67585°, 1,300 m asl; PEM A14710–11, Lungwebungu River camp, -12.58439° 18.66748°, 1,297 m asl; PEM A14719, PEM A14738, Quembo River bridge camp, -13.52746° 19.28060°, 1,241 m asl; PEM A14737, Quembo River bridge camp, trap 1, -13.52801° 19.28147°, 1,236 m asl; PEM A14760, Quembo River bridge camp, trap 2, -13.52816° 19.28067°, 1,240 m asl; PEM A14817, Luio River camp floodplains, -13.19711° 20.22194°, 1,181 m asl; PEM A14875, wetland south of Lake Hundo, -15.01099° 21.63608°, 1,100 m asl. Additional specimens (2 specimens): SAIAB 204568 (2 specimens), Quembo River source lake, -13.13611° 19.04500°, 1,367 m asl. Description: Medium sized Ptychadena ; tympanum large, three-quarters the size of the eye; small inconspicuous metatarsal tubercle; large outer metatarsal tubercle; three phalanges of longest toe free of webbing; numerous irregular-sized palmar tubercles present; prominent longitudinal ridges; outer dorsolateral ridge broken anteriorly; no ventral asperites in males. Dorsum with scattered blotches, almost forming transverse bands; lower lip barred; vertebral stripe present or absent; snout distinctly marked, without pale triangle; back of thighs with large pale blotches, almost forming longitudinal stripes; light line on dorsal tibia often absent (present in PEM A12769, 12762, and 12900). Males with swollen and dark thumbs. Adult females (n = 25) varied from 27.5–43.7 (39.0) mm (largest females: PEM A12905, PEM A12831); adult males (n = 22) varied from 30.1–39.5 (35.0) mm (largest male: PEM A12611). Habitat and natural history notes: Commonly found in flooded grasslands adjacent to main rivers and source lakes. Comments: See P. porosissima account for information on sympatry between these two species.

Figures

Map 34. Distribution of Ptychadena uzungwensis in Angola.

Fig. 35. Adult male Ptychadena uzungwensis from Culua River source. Photo by Werner Conradie.