Breviceps mossambicus Peters, 1854

Class: Amphibia > Order: Anura > Family: Brevicipitidae > Genus: Breviceps > Species: Breviceps mossambicus

Engystoma granosum Cuvier, 1829, Regne Animal., Ed. 2, 2: 112. Types: Not stated; presumably originally in the MNHNP but not known to be there now. Type locality: "Cap" (= Cape of Good Hope, Western Cape Province, Rep. South Africa). Nomen nudum. Synonymy by Parker, 1934, Monogr. Frogs Fam. Microhylidae: 194.

Bufo (Engystoma) granosus Cuvier, 1829, Regne Animal., Ed. 2, 2: 112. by implication, an alternative original combination.

Breviceps mossambicus Peters, 1854, Ber. Bekannt. Verhandl. K. Preuss. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1854: 628. Syntypes: ZMB 3554 (3 specimens) (see discussion by Poynton and Broadley, 1985, Ann. Natal Mus., 26: 517-518; and Bauer, Günther, and Robeck, 1996, Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berlin, 72: 261); BMNH 1862.7.29.29 (reregistered 1947.2.30.93) recorded as a syntype in BMNH records. Parker, 1934, Monogr. Frogs Fam. Microhylidae: 195, also records BMNH 62.7.29.29 as a syntype. Type locality: "Insula Mossambique [all surviving syntypes], Sena".

Systoma granosum — Parker, 1868, Monogr. Struct. Devel. Shoulder-girdle Stern. Vert.: 69.

Breviceps mossambicus var. mossambicus — Werner, 1903, Abh. Math. Physik. Cl. Bayer. Akad. Wiss., 22: 383, by implication.

Breviceps mitchelli Hoffman, 1944, Soöl. Navors. Nas. Mus. Bloemfontein, 1: 182. Holotype: NMB A2632, by original designation. Type locality: "Chitiala [= Chitala River], Nyasaland", Malawi. Synonymy by Loveridge, 1953, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 110: 329, 393; Poynton and Broadley, 1985, Ann. Natal Mus., 26: 517.

Common Names

Flat-faced Frog (Cochran, 1961, Living Amph. World: 174; Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 4).

Mozambique Blaasop (Pienaar, 1963, Koedoe, 6: 81).

Mozambique Rain Frog (Pienaar, 1963, Koedoe, 6: 81; Broadley, 1973, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 10: 22; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 104; Lambiris, 1990 "1989", Monogr. Mus. Reg. Sci. Nat. Torino, 10: 69; Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 220; Du Preez and Carruthers, 2009, Compl. Guide Frogs S. Afr.: 120).

Moçambique Rain Frog (Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 4).

Mozambique Rain Frog (Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 219).

Mozambique Short-headed Frog (Broadley, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 33; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 87; Du Preez and Carruthers, 2017, Frogs S. Afr., Compl. Guide: 126).

Flat-faced Rain Frog (Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 104).

Distribution

Eastern Tanzania south to eastern Rep. South Africa, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and through northern Mozambique and northern Zambia to southeastern Dem. Rep. Congo.

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: Congo, Democratic Republic of the, Eswatini, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Likely/Controversially Present: Botswana

Comment

Angolan material separated as an undescribed taxon by Poynton, 1982, S. Afr. J. Zool., 17: 67–74, who reported extensive hybridization with Breviceps adspersus (although this was rejected by Minter, 2004, in Minter et al. (eds.), Atlas Frogs S. Afr. Lesotho and Swaziland: 172–173). See Poynton and Broadley, 1985, Ann. Natal Mus., 26: 517–528, and Lambiris, 1988, Lammergeyer, 39: 68–69, for discussion of taxonomic problems and comparison with Breviceps adspersus. Minter, 1997, Ann. Natal Mus., 38: 5–19, reported on advertisement call structure and morphology. See also accounts by Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 221–222, Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 219–220, Minter, 2004, in Minter et al. (eds.), Atlas Frogs S. Afr. Lesotho and Swaziland: 184–186, Pickersgill, 2007, Frog Search: 61–62, and Du Preez and Carruthers, 2009, Compl. Guide Frogs S. Afr.: 120–121. Mercurio, 2011, Amph. Malawi: 105–107, provided an account for Malawi. Harper, Measey, Patrick, Menegon, and Vonesh, 2010, Field Guide Amph. E. Arc Mts. Tanzania and Kenya: 82–83, provided a brief account for the Eastern Arc Mountain region of Tanzania. Ngalason and Mkonyi, 2011, Fieldiana, Life Earth Sci., 2011 (4): 81–89, found the species at 1200 m elevation on Uluguru South mountains, Tanzania. Portik, Mulungu, Sequeira, and McEntee, 2013, Herpetol. Rev., 44: 395, provided a record for Zambézia Province, Mozambique. Ohler and Frétey, 2014, J. E. Afr. Nat. Hist., 103: 81–82, provided a brief account for northern Mozambique. Conradie, Bittencourt-Silva, Engelbrecht, Loader, Menegon, Nanvonamuquitxo, Scott, and Tolley, 2016, Zoosyst. Evol., Berlin, 92: 163–180, reported populations from Mount Namuli (Zambezia Province) and Mount M'pàluwé (Nampula Province), Mozambique. In the Breviceps mossambicus group of Nielsen, Daniels, Conradie, Heinicke, and Noonan, 2018, J. Biogeograph., 45: 2067–2079, who reported on molecular phylogenetics and biogeography. Phaka, Netherlands, Kruger, and Du Preez, 2017, Bilingual Field Guide Frogs Zululand: 25, provided a photograph, Zululand regional map, and a brief account of life history and identification. Du Preez and Carruthers, 2017, Frogs S. Afr., Compl. Guide: 126–127, provided a brief account for southern , including a polygon range map, photograph, identification features, morphology, habitat, and call. Channing and Rödel, 2019, Field Guide Frogs & Other Amph. Afr.: 126–127, provided a brief account for southern Africa, photograph, and range map. Bittencourt-Silva, Bayliss, and Conradie, 2020, Amph. Rept. Conserv., 14 (2: e247): 198–271, reported the species from Mount Lico, Ile District, Zambezia Province, northeast-central Mozambique; possibly to northeastern Botswana. Miguel, Matsinhe, Francisco, and Kaiser, 2022, Herpetol. Notes, 15: 773, reported a population in central Zambezia Province, Mozambique. 

   

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