Nimbaphrynoides occidentalis (Angel, 1943)

Kanga, Kouassi Philippe, Kouamé, N’Goran Germain, Zogbassé, Parfait, Gongomin, Basseu Aude-Inès, Agoh, Konan Laurent, Kouamé, Akoua Michèle, Konan, Jean Christophe B. Y. N., Adepo-Gourène, Abouo Béatrice, Gourène, Germain & Rödel, Mark-Oliver, 2021, Amphibian diversity of a West African biodiversity hotspot: an assessment and commented checklist of the batrachofauna of the Ivorian part of the Nimba Mountains, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 275) 15 (1), pp. 71-107 : 80

Nimbaphrynoides occidentalis (Angel, 1943)

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 ), whereas the female had a nearly uniform light brown dorsal color ( Fig. 7B ). 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.

Figures

Fig. 7. Bufonids from Mount Nimba Integrated Nature Reserve: Nimbaphrynoides occidentalis juvenile (A); N. occidentalis female (B); Sclerophrys maculata male (C), the yellow color is only exhibited by some males during breeding; S. maculata female (D); S. regularis male (E); S. regularis female (F); S. togoensis male (G); S. togoensis female (H).