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Leptopelis viridis (Günther, 1869)
Hylambates viridis Günther, 1869 "1868", Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1868: 487. Holotype: BMNH, by original designation; BMNH 1947.2.10.23 by museum records. Type locality: Not stated; given as "W. Africa" by Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 134.
Hylambates hyloides Boulenger, 1906 "1905", Ann. Mus. Civ. Stor. Nat. Genova, Ser. 3, 2: 167. Syntypes: "Numerous specimens" in MSNG and BMNH, the BMNH specimens being 1906.3.30.151–155 (reregistered as 1947.2.20.12–16) according to museum records; MSNG 29944A designated lectotype by Capocaccia, 1957, Ann. Mus. Civ. Stor. Nat. Genova, Ser. 3, 69: 218. Type locality: "Bolama, Portuguese Guinea [= Guinea-Bissau]". Synonymy by Parker, 1936, Zool. Meded., Leiden, 19: 97, and Perret, 1966, Zool. Jahrb., Jena, Abt. Syst., 93: 432. A. Schiøtz In Laurent, 1985, in Frost (ed.), Amph. Species World: 230, noted that the types of Leptopelis hyloides were of the biological species Leptopelis viridis, but the species that is commonly associated with the name Leptopelis hyloides was another, now named Leptopelis spiritusnoctis.
Leptopelis nanus Ahl, 1924, Arch. Naturgesch., Abt. A,, 90: 252. Holotype: ZMB unnumbered according to the original publication; now ZMB 26990 (M.-O. Rödel, personal commun.). Type locality: "Mangu [now Sansanne-Mango], Togo". Synonymy by Parker, 1936, Zool. Meded., Leiden, 19: 97; Perret, 1966, Zool. Jahrb., Jena, Abt. Syst., 93: 432. (Formerly placed in the synonymy of Leptopelus bocagii by Loveridge, 1929, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 151: 121.)
Leptopelis togoensis Ahl, 1929, Sitzungsber. Ges. Naturforsch. Freunde Berlin, 1929: 191. Syntypes: ZMB (2 specimens) unnumbered according to the original publication; these now possibly lost (M.-O. Rödel, personal commun.). Type locality: "Bumpana (Panpamba), Togo". Subsequently Ahl, 1931, Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berlin, 17: 113, stated the type locality to only be "Togo". Synonymy by Parker, 1936, Zool. Meded., Leiden, 19: 97; Perret, 1966, Zool. Jahrb., Jena, Abt. Syst., 93: 432.
Leptopelis liberiensis Ahl, 1929, Sitzungsber. Ges. Naturforsch. Freunde Berlin, 1929: 196. Syntypes: ZMB (2 specimens) unnumbered according to the original publication, these now possibly lost (M.-O. Rödel, personal commun.). Type locality: "Liberia". Synonymy by Loveridge, 1941, Proc. U.S. Natl. Mus., 91: 128.
Leptopelis hyloides — Ahl, 1931, Das Tierreich, 55: 215.
Leptopelis viridis — Ahl, 1931, Das Tierreich, 55: 212; Parker, 1936, Zool. Meded., Leiden, 19: 95.
Leptopelis nanus — Ahl, 1931, Das Tierreich, 55: 216.
Leptopelis (Taphriomantis) viridis — Laurent, 1941, Rev. Zool. Bot. Afr., 35: 102.
Common Names
Green Tree Frog (Channing and Rödel, 2019, Field Guide Frogs & Other Amph. Afr.: 212; Spawls, Mazuch, and Mohammad, 2023, Handb. Amph. Rept. NE Afr.: 80).
Rusty Forest Treefrog (Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 69).
Savannah Tree Frog (Emms, Jambang, Bah, Mankali, Rödel, and Barnett, 2005, Herpetol. Bull., London, 94: 14).
Gbanga Forest Treefrog (Leptopelis hyloides [no longer recognized]: Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 69).
Distribution
Savanna of West Africa from Senegal and southern Niger to northeastern Dem. Rep. Congo, southern South Sudan, Uganda, and likely into Chad, Mali, and Central African Republic. See comment.
Geographic Occurrence
Natural Resident: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, Democratic Republic of the, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Togo, Uganda
Likely/Controversially Present: Central African Republic, Chad, Mali
Comment
Literature of this species is confusing because the type of Leptopelis hyloides is conspecific with Leptopelis viridis, although often applied to a forest species distinct from Leptopelis viridis. So, nomenclaturally, Leptopelis hyloides became a junior synonym of Leptopelis viridis, while the living populations previously identifed as Leptopelis hyloides were given a new name—Leptopelis spiritusnoctis. All older records of Leptopelis hyloides (other than the type) now refer to Leptopelis spiritusnoctis. Channing, Rödel, and Channing, 2012, Tadpoles of Africa: 121–122, reported on comparative tadpole morphology. Schiøtz, 1999, Treefrogs Afr.: 300–301, provided a brief account and map. Auliya, Wagner, and Böhme, 2012, Bonn Zool. Bull., 61: 255–281, reported the species from the Bijagos Archipelago, Guinea-Bissau. Barej, Pfalzgraff, Hirschfeld, Liedtke, Penner, Gonwouo, Dahmen, Grözinger, Schmitz, and Rödel, 2015, Amph. Rept. Conserv., 9(2, Spec. Section): 56–84, reported on larval morphology. Marques, Ceríaco, Blackburn, and Bauer, 2018, Proc. California Acad. Sci., Ser. 4, 65 (Suppl. II): 126–127, provided a map and brief account for Angola, suggesting its presence there. Rödel and Glos, 2019, Zoosyst. Evol., 95: 20, reported this species from the Foya Proposed Protected Area in western Liberia. Channing and Rödel, 2019, Field Guide Frogs & Other Amph. Afr.: 212–213, provided a brief account, photograph, and range map. Ayoro, Segniagbeto, Hema, Penner, Oueda, Dubois, Rödel, Kabré, and Ohler, 2020, Zoosystema, 42: 547–582, discussed records, identification, and habitat in Burkina Faso. Kanga, Kouamé, Zogbass, Gongomin, Agoh, Kouamé, Konan, Adepo-Gourène, Gourène, and Rödel, 2021, Amph. Rept. Conserv., 15: 71–107, commented on conservation status, identification, range, and habitat on the Ivory Coast side of Mont Nimba. Gansa, Agadjihouèdé, and Hounkanrin, 2023, Afr. Zool., 58: 39–56, reported the species from the lower Ouémé Valley, southern Benin, and briefly descried habitat preference. Segniagbeto, Ohler, Rödel, Luiselli, and Dubois, 2024, Zoosystema, 46: 638–639, provided an account for Togo, discussing habitat, conservation status, and identification. Spawls, Mazuch, and Mohammad, 2023, Handb. Amph. Rept. NE Afr.: 80, provided an account addressing identification, natural history, conservation status, and range in South Sudan, including a dot map.
External links:
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- For access to general information see Wikipedia
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- For access to relevant technical literature search Google Scholar
- For images search CalPhoto Images and Google Images
- To search the NIH genetic sequence database, see GenBank
- For additional information see AmphibiaWeb report
- For information on conservation status and distribution see the IUCN Redlist
- For information on distribution, habitat, and conservation see the Map of Life
- For related information on conservation and images as well as observations see iNaturalist
- For access to available specimen data for this species, from over 350 scientific collections, go to Vertnet.