Amphibians of Rwanda: Diversity, Community Features, and Conservation Status

Abstract

The diversity and distribution of the amphibians in Rwanda was critically reviewed to provide a reliable species inventory for informed conservation management. The checklist of the amphibian species of Rwanda is based on results of our own fieldwork, historical records compiled from the literature, and examination of voucher specimens in museum collections. A total of 62 species are recorded, and 22 further species listed in field guides and open-access data bases are discussed, identified as erroneous records, and consequently not included in the country list. We provide diagnostic characters of external morphology and the advertisement call for each validated species, and a short synopsis of geographic distribution, altitudinal range, occurrence in the provinces of Rwanda, and habitat preference. We provide keys to all genera, and all taxonomically described species based on morphological characters and additional keys based on features of the advertisement calls. We discuss features of amphibian communities including local community structure and delimitation of altitudinal metacommunities. Based on the IUCN red list assessment and our field surveys, we propose for the first time a national red list of amphibians in Rwanda.

Modern Statistical Methods for Infectious Diseases to Analyse Covid-19 Pandemic Data in Rwanda

“…Rwanda is positioned in Central Africa, immediately south of the equator between latitude 1• 4′ and 2• 51′ S and longitude 28• 63′ and 30• 54′ E. According to the 2012 Fourth Rwanda Population and Housing Census, the country is subdivided into four (Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western) geographically situated provinces plus Kigali town (the capital, in the center). These provinces break up into thirty (30) districts, the most essential administrative regions of Rwanda's decentralization system, sectors (416), cells (2148), and villages (14,837), which cowl a 26,338 km2 location that houses 10,515,973 inhabitants (Dehling and Sinsch, 2023).…”

A New Miniature Species of Arthroleptis (Anura: Arthroleptidae) from Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda

“…Phylogenetic analyses have repeatedly demonstrated that small-sized Arthroleptis species considered to belong to Schoutedenella do not form a distinct clade separated from larger species and Schoutedenella is now widely recognized as a junior synonym of Arthroleptis [6,12]. A number of small Arthroleptis species have been described from the mountains and the graben valley of the Albertine Rift [3,8,[13][14][15][16], and three species of Arthroleptis have been recorded from Rwanda [17]. Arthroleptis adolfifriederici Nieden, 1911 was described from the "Bugoiewald" and the "Rugegewald" (nowadays Gishwati and Nyungwe Forest, respectively) in Rwanda and is easily identified by its large size, smooth dorsum and long and slender limbs [13,17].…”

“…A number of small Arthroleptis species have been described from the mountains and the graben valley of the Albertine Rift [3,8,[13][14][15][16], and three species of Arthroleptis have been recorded from Rwanda [17]. Arthroleptis adolfifriederici Nieden, 1911 was described from the "Bugoiewald" and the "Rugegewald" (nowadays Gishwati and Nyungwe Forest, respectively) in Rwanda and is easily identified by its large size, smooth dorsum and long and slender limbs [13,17]. Arthroleptis schubotzi Nieden, 1911 has its type locality at "Usumbura" (=Bujumbura, Burundi) and was later also recorded from southwestern Tanzania, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and western Rwanda [8,13,15,[17][18][19].…”

“…Arthroleptis adolfifriederici Nieden, 1911 was described from the "Bugoiewald" and the "Rugegewald" (nowadays Gishwati and Nyungwe Forest, respectively) in Rwanda and is easily identified by its large size, smooth dorsum and long and slender limbs [13,17]. Arthroleptis schubotzi Nieden, 1911 has its type locality at "Usumbura" (=Bujumbura, Burundi) and was later also recorded from southwestern Tanzania, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and western Rwanda [8,13,15,[17][18][19]. It is a small-sized species (SVL of male and female < 24 mm) with a granular dorsal skin, a grey venter with blackish network and reddish thighs [17].…”

“…Arthroleptis schubotzi Nieden, 1911 has its type locality at "Usumbura" (=Bujumbura, Burundi) and was later also recorded from southwestern Tanzania, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and western Rwanda [8,13,15,[17][18][19]. It is a small-sized species (SVL of male and female < 24 mm) with a granular dorsal skin, a grey venter with blackish network and reddish thighs [17]. I repeatedly collected another very small species of Arthroleptis in Nyungwe and Cyamudongo Forest (Arthroleptis sp.…”