Phrynobatrachus scheffleri (Nieden, 1911)

Class: Amphibia > Order: Anura > Family: Phrynobatrachidae > Genus: Phrynobatrachus > Species: Phrynobatrachus scheffleri

Arthroleptis scheffleri Nieden, 1911 "1910", Sitzungsber. Ges. Naturforsch. Freunde Berlin, 1910: 438. Syntypes: ZMB (169 specimens), by original designation. Type localities: "Kibwesi in Britisch-ostafrika", "Nairobi", "Zanzibar", and "Mpapua".

Arthroleptis albifer Ahl, 1924, Arch. Naturgesch., Abt. A,, 90: 251. Holotype: ZMB unnumbered, according to the original publication. Type locality: "Usaramo, Deutsch-Ost-Afrika", Tanzania. Synonymy with Phrynobatrachus minutus by Loveridge, 1929, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 151: 107. This synonymy questioned by Largen, 2001, Tropical Zool., 14: 300. Synonymy (tentative) with Phrynobatrachus scheffleri by Schick, Zimkus, Channing, Köhler, and Lötters, 2010, Salamandra, 46: 29. 

Pseudarthroleptis scheffleriDeckert, 1938, Sitzungsber. Ges. Naturforsch. Freunde Berlin, 1938: 159.

Pseudarthroleptis albifer — Deckert, 1938, Sitzungsber. Ges. Naturforsch. Freunde Berlin, 1938: 158.

Phrynobatrachus (Pararthroleptis) scheffleriLaurent, 1941, Rev. Zool. Bot. Afr., 34: 205.

Phrynobatrachus scheffleriLargen, 2001, Tropical Zool., 14: 300.

Phrynobatrachus albifer — Largen, 2001, Tropical Zool., 14: 300.

English Names

Scheffler's Puddle Frog (Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 292).

Distribution

Semi-humid eastern Africa from central and southeastern Kenya and Tanzania (including Zanzibar) northwest up to central Uganda and eastern Rwanda, from sea level up to at least 1650 m

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda

Comment

Removed from the synonymy of Phrynobatrachus minutus by Largen, 2001, Tropical Zool., 14: 287–306, where it had been placed by Loveridge, 1929, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 151: 107; Loveridge, 1936, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 79: 421; Parker, Moreau, and Pakenham, 1940, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Ser. 11, 5: 309–314. Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 292–293, provided an account and noted that this species had previously been confused with Phrynobatrachus minutus. Pickersgill, 2007, Frog Search: 187–192, provided an account. Frétey, 2008, Alytes, 25: 99–172, summarized the literature. Schick, Zimkus, Channing, Köhler, and Lötters, 2010, Salamandra, 46: 24–36, discussed the species and provided an account. In species group B of Zimkus, Rödel, and Hillers, 2010, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 55: 883–900. Measey, Malonza, and Muchai, 2009, Amph. Taita Hills: 46–47, provided a brief account and photo for the Taita Hills, Kenya. Harper, Measey, Patrick, Menegon, and Vonesh, 2010, Field Guide Amph. E. Arc Mts. Tanzania and Kenya: 244–245, provided a brief account and photograph. Spawls, Wasonga, and Drewes, 2019, Amph. Kenya: 47, provided a photograph, range map, and brief characterization. In the Phrynobatrachus calcaratus group of Goutte, Reyes-Velasco, and Boissinot, 2019, ZooKeys, 824: 53–70. Channing and Rödel, 2019, Field Guide Frogs & Other Amph. Afr.: 310–311, provided a brief account, photograph, and range map. Dehling and Sinsch, 2023, Diversity, 15 (512): 1–81, discussed the range, identification, natural history, advertisement call, and conservation status in Rwanda. 

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