Phrynobatrachus natalensis (Smith, 1849)

Marques, Mariana P., Parrinha, Diogo, Lopes-Lima, Manuel, Tiutenko, Arthur, Bauer, Aaron M. & Ceríaco, Luis M. P., 2024, An island in a sea of sand: a first checklist of the herpetofauna of the Serra da Neve inselberg, southwestern Angola, ZooKeys 1201, pp. 167-217 : 167-217

Phrynobatrachus natalensis (Smith, 1849)

Figs 4 e , 5 a

Records.

Mamué riparian area [- 13.8004, 13.1246, 732 m] ( UF 187249); Catchi, small stream near basecamp [- 13.7630, 13.2513, 1595 m] (MUNHAC / MB 04 - 001097 – 001146).

Comments.

The species, as currently understood, is likely to contain multiple undescribed cryptic species across its large distribution in the savanna and grassland regions of sub-Saharan Africa ( Zimkus et al. 2010). Based on newly generated molecular data ( LMPC unpub. data), we conclude that the population from Serra da Neve belongs to the same lineage as topotypical populations in South Africa. The specimens were collected on the margins of small streams, both in the lowlands and highlands of the inselberg.

Figures

Figure 4. a, b Xenopus petersii c Poyntonophrynus dombensis d Poyntonophrynus pachnodes e Sclerophrys pusilla f Phrynomantis annectens g Leptopelis anchietae h Phrynobatrachus natalensis. Photographs by AT (a, b, e, g, h); LMPC (c, f) and IA (d).

Figure 5. a Phrynobatrachus natalensis b Amietia angolensis c Tomopterna ahli d Tomopterna tuberculosa e Kinixys belliana f Stigmochelys pardalis g Afroedura praedicta h Hemidactylus benguellensis. Photographs by AT (a, b, d, h) and LMPC (c, e – g).