A new species of Puddle Frog, genus Phrynobatrachus (Amphibia: Anura: Phrynobatrachidae) from Ghana

Ofori‐Boateng, Caleb; Leaché, Adam D.; Obeng-Kankam, Bright; Kouamé, N.; Hillers, Annika; Rödel, Mark‐Oliver

doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4374.4.6

Cited by 838 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Currently, records are known from primary rainforest (Rödel and Ernst 2004), as well as from savanna from various parts of West African (Rödel 2000;Nago et al 2006). It apparently is a complex of cryptic species (Zimkus et al 2010;Ofori-Boateng et al 2018), but our records are likely the real P. gutturosus, as the type locality is in Liberia (Chabanaud 1921). In both sites, usually near stagnant waters in primary forest, we heard this species' typical long buzzing call with single clicks at the end.…”

Section: Phrynobatrachus Gutturosus (Chabanaud 1921); Kbppa and Fppamentioning

confidence: 87%

Herpetological surveys in two proposed protected areas in Liberia, West Africa

Rödel¹,

Glos²

2019

ZSE

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In March and April 2018 we surveyed amphibians and reptiles in two Proposed Protected Areas (PPAs) in Liberia. In the Krahn-Bassa Proposed Protected Area (KBPPA) in eastern Liberia 36 species of amphibians and 13 species of reptiles were recorded. In the Foya Proposed Protected Area (FPPA) in western Liberia 39 species of amphibians and 10 species of reptiles were recorded. The encountered herpetological communities in both sites were typical for West African rainforests. However, some species indicated disturbances, in particular at the edges of the study areas, the surrounding villages and plantations, and old artisanal gold mining sites within forests. Of particular conservation interest was the discovery of a high percentage of typical rainforest specialists with ranges restricted to the western part of the Upper Guinea rainforest biodiversity hotspot. Outstanding discoveries in KBPPA were two new species of puddle frogs, and the first country record for the arboreal, parachuting lizardHolaspisguentheri. Remarkable records in FPPA comprise a new species of stiletto snake, a new puddle frog and records of various frog species typically breeding in undisturbed rainforest streams, such asOdontobatrachusnatatorandConrauaalleni. Both study areas comprise an important proportion of the remaining rainforests in the Upper Guinea forest zone. The new discoveries indicate that within this biogeographic area, southeastern and western Liberian rainforest may still hold various undiscovered species and species of conservation concern. Further surveys in KBPPA and FPPA and nearby forests should clarify the distribution and conservation status of the new taxa.This study also emphasizes that the western part of the Liberian forests comprise at least partly a herpetofauna which differs from that of the East of the country. The recorded threatened amphibian species are all specialized on relatively undisturbed rainforests and they all have only small geographic ranges. The remaining parts of undisturbed or little disturbed forests thus have high importance for the long-term survival of these species. In conclusion the study areas have a high conservation potential and should be urgently protected from any further forest loss degradation and uncontrolled hunting.

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Section: Phrynobatrachus Gutturosus (Chabanaud 1921); Kbppa and Fppamentioning

confidence: 87%

Herpetological surveys in two proposed protected areas in Liberia, West Africa

Rödel¹,

Glos²

2019

ZSE

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“…2012; Ofori‐Boateng et al. 2018). In Ghana, the amphibian and reptile biodiversity has been extensively surveyed, including the southwestern rain forest, Togo‐Volta Hills, and the Dahomey Gap (Leaché 2005; Rödel et al.…”

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Comparative phylogeography of West African amphibians and reptiles

et al. 2020

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Comparative phylogeographic studies often support shared divergence times for co‐distributed species with similar life histories and habitat specializations. During the late Holocene, West Africa experienced aridification and the turnover of rain forest habitats into savannas. These fragmented rain forests harbor impressive numbers of endemic and threatened species. In this setting, populations of co‐distributed rain forest species are expected to have diverged simultaneously, whereas divergence events for species adapted to savanna and forest‐edge habitats should be absent or idiosyncratic. We conducted a Bayesian analysis of shared evolutionary events to test models of population divergence for 20 species of anurans (frogs) and squamates (lizards and snakes) that are distributed across the Dahomey Gap, a climate change‐induced savanna barrier responsible for fragmenting previously contiguous rain forests of Ghana into two regions: the Togo‐Volta Hills and the Southwestern Forests. A model of asynchronous diversification is supported for anurans and squamates, suggesting that drivers of diversification are not specifically related to ecological and life history associations with habitat types. Instead, the wide variability of genetic divergence histories exhibited by these species suggests that biodiversity in this region has been shaped by diversification events that extend beyond the Holocene. Comparisons of the genealogical divergence index, a measure of the genetic divergence between populations due to the combined effects of genetic isolation and gene flow, illustrate that these populations represent a broad sampling of the speciation continuum.

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A new critically endangered slippery frog (Amphibia, Conrauidae, Conraua) from the Atewa Range, central Ghana

Neira-Salamea

Ofori‐Boateng

Kouamé

et al. 2021

Zootaxa

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Forty-nine years after the last description of a slippery frog, we describe a seventh species of the genus Conraua. The new Conraua is endemic to the Atewa Range Forest Reserve, central Ghana, and is described based on genetic, bioacoustics, and morphological evidence. Recent molecular phylogenetic and species delimitation analyses support this population as distinct from nominotypical C. derooi in eastern Ghana and adjacent Togo. The new species is sister to C. derooi, from which it differs ~4% in the DNA sequence for mitochondrial ribosomal 16S. Genetic divergences in 16S to other species of Conraua range from 4–12%. The new species is distinguished morphologically from its congeners, including C. derooi, by the combination of the following characters: medium body size, robust limbs, lateral dermal fringing along edges of fingers, cream ventral color with brown mottling, the presence of a lateral line system, indistinct tympanum, the presence of inner, outer, and middle palmar tubercles, and two subarticular tubercles on fingers III and IV. We compare the advertisement calls of the new species with the calls from C. derooi and find that they differ by duration, frequency modulation, and dominant frequency. We discuss two potential drivers of speciation between C. derooi and the new species, including river barriers and fragmentation of previously more widespread forests in West Africa. Finally, we highlight the importance of the Atewa Range Forest Reserve as a critical conservation area within the Upper Guinean biodiversity hotspot.

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A new species of Puddle Frog, genus Phrynobatrachus (Amphibia: Anura: Phrynobatrachidae) from Ghana

Cited by 838 publications

References 0 publications

Herpetological surveys in two proposed protected areas in Liberia, West Africa

Herpetological surveys in two proposed protected areas in Liberia, West Africa

Comparative phylogeography of West African amphibians and reptiles

A new critically endangered slippery frog (Amphibia, Conrauidae, Conraua) from the Atewa Range, central Ghana

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