Sclerophrys pusilla (Mertens, 1937)

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 : 29

Sclerophrys pusilla (Mertens, 1937)

Flat-backed Toad ( Fig. 9 ; Map 8 )

Material (41 specimens): PEM A12425–6, INBAC (no number), Cunde waterfall, -13.77364° 18.75514°, 1,287 m asl; PEM A12434, south of Menongue en route to Cuebe River, -14.96288° 17.69090°, 1,319 m asl; PEM A12446, Cuchi River gorge, -14.59000° 16.90758°, 1,375 m asl; PEM A12494, HALO Menongue, -14.66317° 17.66521°, 1,386 m asl; PEM A12499, INBAC (no number), drive back from Cuchi to Menongue, -14.67986° 17.17512°, 1,404 m asl; PEM A12623–4, HALO Cuito, -12.39584° 16.96067°, 1,697 m asl; PEM A12630–1, roadside ditch 10 km SW of Cuito, -12.44815° 16.88118°, 1,742 m asl; PEM A12636, Quembo River source camp, -13.52653° 19.28368°, 1,242 m asl; PEM A12640, Cuanavale River, -13.37406° 18.99269°, 1,297 m asl; PEM A12642, Cuanavale River, -13.29236° 18.96283°, 1,313 m asl; PEM A 12650–1, Kwanza River bridge, -11.99348° 17.66965°, 1,273 m asl; PEM A12652, Kuvango Hydro Plant Site, wetland to east, -14.38755° 16.30166°, 1,451 m asl; PEM A12658, old Kuvango Hydroplant site, -14.38775° 16.29365°, 1,440 m asl; PEM A12659–60, Campsite 2 near Cuvango Mission, -13.32887 16.41167, 1,537 m asl; PEM A12668, Campsite 1 below rapids, west of Fundo village, -13.04483° 16.37520°, 1,565 m asl; PEM A12680, Camp 3, Malova Village, Mipanha River, -14.09140° 16.41476°, 1,553 m asl; PEM A12686- 7, Huambo HALO training camp, -12.73726° 15.81828°, 1,665 m asl; PEM A12690, Cubango 2017 launch site, -12.61700° 16.22132°, 1,727 m asl; PEM A12839, 31 km W of Menongue, Cueli River, -14.70511° 17.38014°, 1,392 m asl; PEMA 13791, Dam/Hydroplant on Cuquema River, -12.42556° 16.81856°, 1,640 m asl; PEMA 14681– 2, Menongue, -14.63015° 17.63465°, 1,373 m asl; PEM A14720–1, 14725, Quembo River bridge, -13.52746° 19.28060°, 1,241 m asl; PEM A14745–7, Quembo River bridge camp, -13.52746° 19.28060°, 1,241 m asl; PEM A17761–2, Quembo River right side tributary (Micongo River) past village, -13.51877° 19.28487°, 1,478 m asl. Description: Medium sized toad; sharp snout profile; small flattened parotoid glands. Light brown dorsal coloration, with irregular darker markings; no interorbital bar; thin light dorsal stripe may be present; no red markings on the back of the thighs. Males with darkened throats; dorsum with black tipped asperites. Adult females (n = 16) varied from 52.1–79.3 (65.9) mm (largest female: PEM A14745); adult males (n = 9) varied from 35.5–58.7 (50.3) mm (largest male: PEM A12839). Habitat and natural history notes: Found in miombo woodland, sympatric with S. gutturalis . Comments: Poynton et al. (2016) recently split West Africa S. maculata from central and southern African S. pusilla . All the historical Angolan material referred to under the former name, S. maculata , now represents S. pusilla .

Figures

Map 8. Distribution of Sclerophrys pusilla in Angola.

Fig. 9. Adult male Sclerophrys pusilla from Cuito town. Photo by Werner Conradie.