Ptychadena levenorum Smith, Noonan, and Colston, 2017

Class: Amphibia > Order: Anura > Family: Ptychadenidae > Genus: Ptychadena > Species: Ptychadena levenorum

Ptychadena levenorum Smith, Noonan, and Colston, 2017, R. Soc. Open Sci., 4(171389): 2. Holotype: Timoth J. Colston 219, by original designation. Type locality: "Katcha, Bale Mountains National Park, Ethiopia, 6.71645° N, 39.72484° E, 2326 m". Zoobank publication registration: A36FA32C-19F8-491D-B2CE-BD13B388AC93

English Names

None noted. 

Distribution

Northern and southern sides of the Sanetti Plateau (3015 to 3404 m elevation) of the Ethiopian Highlands, except for the population at the type locality (Katch) at 2410 m; westernmost population south of Dodala near Garamba, 3260 m elevation. 

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: Ethiopia

Endemic: Ethiopia

Comment

In the Ptychadena neumanni species complex according to the original publication. Freilich, Tollis, and Boissinot, 2014, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 71: 157–169, presented molecular evidence for the existence of this species, which they referred to as species 3 of the Ptychadena neumanni species complex. Reyes-Velasco, Manthey, Bourgeois, Freilich, and Boissinot, 2018, PLoS One, 13(2: e0190440): 1–23, provided cautions on the methods employed to name this species. See Goutte, Reyes-Velasco, Freilich, Kassie Teme, and Boissinot, 2021, ZooKeys, 1016: 77–141, and Reyes-Velasco, Goutte, Freilich, and Boissinot, 2021, ZooKeys,  1070: 135–149, for detailed account, phylogenetic placement, morphometrics, advertisement call, habitat, and placement in their Ptychadena erlangeri group of the Ptychadena neumanni complex. Lyra, Kirchhof, Goutte, Kassie Teme, and Boissinot, 2023, Frontiers in Genetics, 14(1215715): 1–14, reported on the diversification and biogeography on the Ethiopian highlands and considered the species to be in the Ptychadena erlangeri clade, the sister of Ptychadena nanaLyra, Kirchhof, Goutte, Kassie Teme, and Boissinot, 2023, Frontiers in Genetics, 14(1215715): 1–14, reported on the diversification and biogeography on the Ethiopian highlands, provided a dot map, and considered the species to be in the Ptychadena erlangeri clade. 

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