Poyntonophrynus fenoulheti (Hewitt and Methuen, 1912)

Class: Amphibia > Order: Anura > Family: Bufonidae > Genus: Poyntonophrynus > Species: Poyntonophrynus fenoulheti

Bufo fenoulheti Hewitt and Methuen, 1912, Trans. R. Soc. S. Afr., 3: 108. Syntypes: TMP 10877–78 (formerly 508–09) (Woodbush), AMG 1520 (now in PEM) (Newington); Poynton and Broadley, 1988, Ann. Natal Mus., 29: 466, reported in error that the holotype (actually a syntype) of this species is in the PEM (the former AMG specimen, presumably); PEM A 825 (former AMG 1520) formally designated lectotype by Conradie, Branch, and Watson, 2015, Zootaxa, 3936: 53. Type localities: "Newington, N.E. Transvaal" and "the Woodbush", Zoutpansberg District, Limpopo Province, Rep. South Africa. Lectotype from "Newington", now Limpopo Province, Rep. South Africa. 

Bufo fenoulheti obtusum Hewitt, 1925, Rec. Albany Mus., 3: 363. Syntypes: TMP, by original designation. Conradie, Branch, and Watson, 2015, Zootaxa, 3936: 54, noted that one of the syntypes apparently had migrated to the PEM and they designated this specimen, PEM A824 (formerly AMG 1716) as lectotype. Type locality: "Bleskop, Rustenburg district", Limpopo Province, Rep. South Africa.

Bufo vertebralis albiventris Power, 1927, Trans. R. Soc. S. Afr., 14: 418. Syntypes: MMK (originally 8 specimens) and MCZ 15402 (on exchange from MMK according to Barbour and Loveridge, 1946, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 96: 85) and apparently at least two specimens in the PEM (formerly of AMG), now labeled PEM A826–27 according to  Conradie, Branch, and Watson, 2015, Zootaxa, 3936: 58. Type locality: "Lobatsi", Botswana. Synonymy by Poynton, 1964, Ann. Natal Mus., 17: 63.

Bufo fenoulheti rhodesianus Hewitt, 1932, Ann. Natal Mus., 7: 110. Syntypes: PEM, by original designation. PEM A9079 designated lectotype by  Conradie, Branch, and Watson, 2015, Zootaxa, 3936: 54. Type locality: "on the far Driefontein, near Gwelo", Zimbabwe. Distinctiveness from Bufo fenoulheti fenoulheti rejected by Poynton, 1964, Ann. Natal Mus., 17: 63.

Bufo vertebralis fenoulheti — Poynton, 1964, Ann. Natal Mus., 17: 63.

Bufo dombensis fenoulheti — Mertens, 1971, Abh. Senckenb. Naturforsch. Ges., 529: 12.

Bufo fenoulheti fenoulheti — Poynton and Broadley, 1988, Ann. Natal Mus., 29: 466.

Poyntonophrynus fenoulheti — 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: 365.

Common Names

Northern Pygmy Toad (Du Preez and Carruthers, 2009, Compl. Guide Frogs S. Afr.: 164).

Fenoulhet's Toad (Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 66).

Fenoulheti's Pygmy Toad (Bufo fenoulheti fenoulheti: Lambiris, 1990 "1989", Monogr. Mus. Reg. Sci. Nat. Torino, 10: 61).

Transvaal Dwarf Toad (Pienaar, 1963, Koedoe, 6: 79).

Transvaal Pigmy Toad (Wager, 1965, Frogs S. Afr.: 116).

Newington Toad (Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 41).

Distribution

Northeastern South Africa, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, western and southern Mozambique, southwestern Zambia, Zimbabwe, and eastern Botswana through the Caprivi Strip into northeastern Namibia (and presumably into adjacent southeastern Angola) in open bush and grassland and on granite inselbergs.

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: Botswana, Eswatini, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Likely/Controversially Present: Angola

Comment

Considered by Tandy and Keith, 1972, in Blair (ed.), Evol. Genus Bufo: 159, to be a member of the Bufo vertebralis complex, and (following Mertens, 1971, Abh. Senckenb. Naturforsch. Ges., 529: 11–12) a junior synonym of Bufo dombensis. Auerbach, 1987, Amph. Rept. Botswana: 36–37, provided a summary account (as Bufo fenoulheti) and grid map for Botswana.See Poynton and Broadley, 1988, Ann. Natal Mus., 29: 466–472, for discussion of taxonomic history, geographic variation and subspecies. See also Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 66–67, Bates, 2004, in Minter et al. (eds.), Atlas Frogs S. Afr. Lesotho and Swaziland: 61–62, Pickersgill, 2007, Frog Search: 550–551, and Du Preez and Carruthers, 2009, Compl. Guide Frogs S. Afr.: 164–165, for accounts. Baptista, Conradie, Vaz Pinto, and Branch, 2019, In Huntley, Russo, Lages, and Ferrand (eds.), Biodiversity in Angola: 256, suggested that this species probably extends into southeastern Angola adjacent to the Caprivi Strip of Namibia. Phaka, Netherlands, Kruger, and Du Preez, 2017, Bilingual Field Guide Frogs Zululand: 28, 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: 168–169, provided a brief account, including a polygon range map, photograph, identification features, adult and larval morphology, habitat, and call. Channing and Rödel, 2019, Field Guide Frogs & Other Amph. Afr.: 80–81, provided a brief account, photograph, and range map. Redelimited through the exclusion of Poyntonophrynus grindleyi and Poyntonophrynus jordani by Rödel, Becker, Buiswalelo, Conradie, and Channing, 2023, Salamandra, 59: 143–157, who compared morphology and molecular markers.  

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