Ptychadena taenioscelis Laurent, 1954

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 : 46

Ptychadena taenioscelis Laurent, 1954

Small Ridged Frog ( Fig. 34 ; Map 33 )

Material (39 specimens, 2 tadpole lots): PEM A12479– 81, Cuanavale River source lake, -13.08537° 18.89098°, 1,360 m asl; PEM A12492, Dala River, near Samanunga village, -12.93169° 18.81458°, 1,371 m asl; PEM A12523, Cuiva River source, -12.66825° 18.35282°, 1,407 m asl; PEM A11609, PEM A12562–69, INBAC (no number x 4), Cuito River source lake, -12.68935° 18.36012°, 1,431 m asl; PEM A12663, Campsite 2 near old Cuvango Mission, -13.33451° 16.41280°, 1,534 m asl; PEM A12760, INBAC: WC-4750, INBAC (no number), Cuando River source, -13.00346° 19.12751°, 1,353 m asl; PEM A12767–8, Cuando River source trap 1, -13.00393° 19.12808°, 1,351 m asl; PEM A12783–4, INBAC: WC-4600, Quembo River trap 1, -13.13592° 19.04417°, 1,369 m asl; PEM A12837, 31 km W of Menongue, Cueli River, -14.70511° 17.38014°, 1,392 m asl; PEM A12897–8, INBAC (no number), Quembo River source lake, -13.13624° 19.04591°, 1,367 m asl; PEM A13813, Lake Tchanssengwe, -12.41403° 18.64418°, 1,393 m asl; PEM A13820, en route to Cuemba Village, -11.96587° 17.76176°, 1,302 m asl; PEM A14092 (tadpoles), series of pans south of Tempué, -13.55719° 18.85519°, 1,315 m asl; PEM A14122 (tadpoles), Calua River source, 6 km SE of Cuito River source, -12.73675° 18.39310°, 1,446 m asl; PEM A14691, Lungwebungu River camp, first oxbow on right side, -12.58117° 18.67106°, 1,294 m asl; PEM A14813– 6, INBAC: WC-7009, Luio River camp floodplains, -13.19711° 20.22194°, 1,181 m asl. Additional material (2 specimens, 1 tadpole lot): SAIAB 204572 (2 specimens), Samaununga village, -12.93228° 18.81672°, 1,364 m asl; SAIAB 209102 (12 tadpoles), Calua lagoon, -12.73599° 18.39394°, 1,448 m asl. Description: Small Ptychadena ; subarticular tubercles weakly developed; thin inner metatarsal tubercle; outer metatarsal tubercle absent or much reduced; three phalanges of longest toe free of webbing. Dorsum dark, with scattered black spots; broad vertebral band often present; white line above lip, from tip of snout to insertion of arm; bright green patch between eye and lip; dorsolateral ridge white; back of thighs with one continuous black stripe below vent from knee to knee; soles of feet, toes, forearms, and legs black; light line present on dorsal tibia; throat with scattered black spots; ventrum immaculate. Adult females (n = 21) varied from 21.5–33.2 (27.4) mm (largest female: PEM A12523); adult males (n = 9) varied from 23.1– 28.2 (26.5) mm (largest male: PEM A13813). Habitat and natural history notes: Found along river margins and floodplains. Comments: The close morphological relationship between P. pumilio and P. taenioscelis has been discussed in the past, and no clear concensus has yet been reached ( Perret 1979; Poynton and Broadley 1987), although the former is mostly restricted to West Africa and the latter to Southern Africa ( Channing and Rödel 2019). Bittencourt-Silva (2019) alludes to the close genetic relationship between P. pumilio and this species. Additional investigation is needed to validate its taxonomic status.

Figures

Map 33. Distribution of Ptychadena taenioscelis in Angola.

Fig. 34. Adult female Ptychadena taenioscelis from Cuito River source. Photo by Werner Conradie.