Arthroleptis xenodactyloides Hewitt, 1933

Class: Amphibia > Order: Anura > Family: Arthroleptidae > Subfamily: Arthroleptinae > Genus: Arthroleptis > Species: Arthroleptis xenodactyloides

Arthroleptis xenodactyloides Hewitt, 1933, Occas. Pap. Natl. Mus. S. Rhodesia, 2: 49. Syntypes: NMZB (formerly UM) NM/M 2758–61 (5 specimens). Type locality: "Chirinda Forest, about 150 miles south of Umtali, S. Rhodesia, close to the border of Portuguese East Africa", Zimbabwe.

Arthroleptis (Arthroleptulus) xenodactyloides — Laurent, 1941 "1940", Rev. Zool. Bot. Afr., 34: 87.

Arthroleptis xenodactyloides nkukae Loveridge, 1942, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 91: 427. Holotype: MCZ 17029, by original designation. Type locality: "Nkuka Forest, Rungwe Mountains, Tanganyika Territory [= Tanzania]".

Arthroleptis xenodactyloides nyikae Loveridge, 1953, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 110: 383. Holotype: MCZ 27480, by original designation. Type locality: "foot of first Nchenachena Falls on the Nyika Plateau, about 7000 feet, Nyasaland [Malawi]".

Schoutedenella xenodactyloides xenodactyloides — Laurent, 1954, Ann. Mus. R. Congo Belge, Tervuren, Ser. Quarto, Sci. Zool., 1: 38.

Schoutedenella xenodactyloides nkukae — Laurent, 1954, Ann. Mus. R. Congo Belge, Tervuren, Ser. Quarto, Sci. Zool., 1: 38.

Arthroleptis xenodactyloides xenodactyloides — Laurent, 1957, Rev. Zool. Bot. Afr., 56: 274–275, by implication; Poynton, 1964, Ann. Natal Mus., 17: 162.

Arthroleptis xenodactyloides nyikae — Laurent, 1957, Rev. Zool. Bot. Afr., 56: 274–275, by implication.

Arthroleptis xenodactyloides — Frost, Grant, Faivovich, Bain, Haas, Haddad, de Sá, Channing, Wilkinson, Donnellan, Raxworthy, Campbell, Blotto, Moler, Drewes, Nussbaum, Lynch, Green, and Wheeler, 2006, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 297: 336.

Common Names

Hewitt's Bush Squeaker (Lambiris, 1990 "1989", Monogr. Mus. Reg. Sci. Nat. Torino, 10: 137).

Chirinda Cricket Frog (Broadley, 1973, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 10: 23).

Hewitt's Humus Frog (Van Dijk, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 17: 16).

Hewitt's Cricket Frog (Broadley, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 34). 

Chirinda Screeching Frog (Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 37).

Dwarf Squeaker (Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 53; Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 63; Du Preez and Carruthers, 2009, Compl. Guide Frogs S. Afr.: 85).

Eastern Dwarf Squeaker (Measey, Malonza, and Muchai, 2009, Amph. Taita Hills: 24).

Nyika Squeaker (Arthroleptis xenodactyloides nyikae: Stewart and Wilson, 1966, Ann. Natal Mus., 18: 303).

Distribution

Eastern highlands of Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi, central and northern Mozambique, to northeastern Tanzania and adjacent coastal southern Kenya, with a few records in central Kenya, including the Rungwe Mountains; possibly to extreme southern Dem. Rep. Congo.

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Likely/Controversially Present: Congo, Democratic Republic of the

Comment

This species is sympatric with Arthroleptis xenochirus; see comment under Arthroleptis xenochirus. Subspecies are difficult to distinguish against the known variation within the species (J.C. Poynton In Laurent, 1985, in Frost (ed.), Amph. Species World: 20). See Poynton, 1964, Ann. Natal Mus., 17: 162–163, and Poynton and Broadley, 1985, Ann. Natal Mus., 26: 542–545, for accounts, discussion of geographic variation, and taxonomic characters. Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 53, Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 63–64, and Du Preez and Carruthers, 2009, Compl. Guide Frogs S. Afr.: 85, also provided brief accounts. Pickersgill, 2007, Frog Search: 313–315, also provided an account. Frétey, 2008, Alytes, 25: 99–172, summarized the literature. See photograph, map, description of geographic range and habitat, and conservation status in Stuart, Hoffmann, Chanson, Cox, Berridge, Ramani, and Young, 2008, Threatened Amph. World: 147. Mercurio, 2009, J. Herpetol., 43: 345–350, reported on the advertisement call. Blackburn and Measey, 2009, Mol. Ecol., 18: 1904–1905, reported on the phylogenetics and biogeography of this species. Malonza, Lötters, and Measey, 2010, J. E. Afr. Nat. Hist., 99: 54–55, commented on range, life history, and conservation status in Kenya. Mercurio, 2011, Amph. Malawi: 88–93, provided an account for Malawi. Measey, Malonza, and Muchai, 2009, Amph. Taita Hills: 24–26, provided a very 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: 58–59, provided a brief account for the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania and extreme southern Kenya. Portik, Mulungu, Sequeira, and McEntee, 2013, Herpetol. Rev., 44: 395, provided a record for the Serra Jeci, Niassa Province, Mozambique, at 1668–1723 m elevation.  Ohler and Frétey, 2014, J. E. Afr. Nat. Hist., 103: 79, discussed the species in extreme northern Mozambique. Conradie, Bittencourt-Silva, Engelbrecht, Loader, Menegon, Nanvonamuquitxo, Scott, and Tolley, 2016, Zoosyst. Evol., Berlin, 92: 163–180, reported populations from Mount Mabu and Mount Namuli (Zambezia Province) and Mount M'pàluwé (Nampula Province), Mozambique. Du Preez and Carruthers, 2009, Compl. Guide Frogs S. Afr.: 85, provided an account (identification, conservation status, call, range, and habitat). Spawls, Wasonga, and Drewes, 2019, Amph. Kenya: 6, provided a range map for Kenya, photograph, and brief characterization. Channing and Rödel, 2019, Field Guide Frogs & Other Amph. Afr.: 258–259, provided a brief account, photograph, and range map. Bittencourt-Silva, Bayliss, and Conradie, 2020, Amph. Rept. Conserv., 14 (2: e247): 198–271, reported the species from Mount Lico and Mount Socone, Ile District, Zambesia Province, northeast-central Mozambique.

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