Sclerophrys garmani (Meek, 1897)

Class: Amphibia > Order: Anura > Family: Bufonidae > Genus: Sclerophrys > Species: Sclerophrys garmani

Bufo garmani Meek, 1897, Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Publ., Zool. Ser., 1: 176. Syntypes: FMNH 415, MCZ 19082 (on exchange from FMNH, according to Barbour and Loveridge, 1946, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 96: 83). Type locality: "Haili" (= Haileh), foot of Gobis range about 30 mi. southeast of Berbera, Somalia; corrected to "Halleh, British Somaliland", by Poynton, 1964, Ann. Natal Mus., 17: 55. (Note—the discussion of the type locality in the original text suggests that the true type locality could be anywhere within 20 miles of the stated type locality—DRF.)

Bufo regularis humbensis Monard, 1937 "1936", Bull. Soc. Neuchatel. Sci. Nat., 62: 26. Syntypes: MHNB and MCZ 23712 (on exchange from MHNB according to Barbour and Loveridge, 1946, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 96: 84). Type locality: "Mulondo", Angola. Transferred from the synonymy of Bufo regularis to Bufo garmani by Tandy and Keith, 1972, in Blair (ed.), Evol. Genus Bufo: 159. See comment. 

Bufo pseudogarmani Hulselmans, 1969, Rev. Zool. Bot. Afr., 79: 393-402. Holotype: SMF 46403, by original designation. Type locality: "Goanikontes, S. W. Africa [= Namibia]". Synonymy by Tandy and Keith, 1972, in Blair (ed.), Evol. Genus Bufo: 159; Channing, 1972, Cimbebasia, Windhoek, Ser. A, 2: 93-96. Synonymy discussed by Poynton and Broadley, 1988, Ann. Natal Mus., 29: 455-459.

Bufo garmani pseudogarmani — Mertens, 1971, Abh. Senckenb. Naturforsch. Ges., 529: 6.

Bufo garmani garmani — Mertens, 1971, Abh. Senckenb. Naturforsch. Ges., 529: 6.

Bufo bisidanae Hulselmans, 1977, Rev. Zool. Bot. Afr., 91: 407. Holotype: BMNH 1969.101, by original designation. Type locality: "River Bisidana, East of Harrar (Ethiopia), 1500 m". Synonymy by Tandy, Bogart, Largen, and Feener, 1982, Monit. Zool. Ital., N.S., Suppl., 17: 3. Not included in synonymy presented by Poynton and Broadley, 1988, Ann. Natal Mus., 29: 455.

Amietophrynus garmani — 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: 363.

Sclerophrys garmani — Ohler and Dubois, 2016, PeerJ, 4(e1553): 9.

Common Names

Garman's Toad (Broadley, 1971, Puku, 6: 110; Broadley, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 33; Van Dijk, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 17: 15; Ananjeva, Borkin, Darevsky, and Orlov, 1988, Dict. Amph. Rept. Five Languages: 39; Lambiris, 1990 "1989", Monogr. Mus. Reg. Sci. Nat. Torino, 10: 57; Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 41; Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 72; Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 74).

Olive Toad (Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 4; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 72; Ananjeva, Borkin, Darevsky, and Orlov, 1988, Dict. Amph. Rept. Five Languages: 39).

Northern Mottled Toad (Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 4; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 72).

Light-nosed Toad (Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 4; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 72).

Garman's Square-marked Toad (Broadley, 1973, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 10: 22; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 72).

Garman's Square-backed Toad (Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 74 [alternative name]).

Eastern Olive Toad (Turner, 2004, in Minter et al. (eds.), Atlas Frogs S. Afr. Lesotho and Swaziland: 65; Du Preez and Carruthers, 2009, Compl. Guide Frogs S. Afr.: 140).

Distribution

In disjunct populations in East Africa from Ethiopia and northern Somalia (400 to 2500 m elevation) south to northeastern parts of the Rep. South Africa, and eastern Caprivi Strip of Namibia, also southwestern and eastern Angola (see comment).

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Comment

Removed from the synonymy of Bufo regularis by Mertens, 1971, Abh. Senckenb. Naturforsch. Ges., 529: 6, where it had been placed by Boulenger, 1898, Ann. Mus. Civ. Stor. Nat. Genova, Ser. 2, 18: 716. Auerbach, 1987, Amph. Rept. Botswana: 35, provided a summary account and grid map for Botswana. Poynton and Broadley, 1988, Ann. Natal Mus., 29: 455-459, discussed the taxonomic problems among Bufo poweri, Bufo garmani, and Bufo pseudogarmani. See Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 72, for account, who noted that the relationship of this taxon with Bufo poweri is not clear. See Largen, 2001, Tropical Zool., 14: 315-316, for comments on habitat and distribution as well as the suggestion that populations from south of Tanzania (within which this species has only been recorded in the far north-northeast) are possibly a distinct species. Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 74-75, provided an account for East Africa. Turner, 2004, in Minter et al. (eds.), Atlas Frogs S. Afr. Lesotho and Swaziland: 65-67, and Du Preez and Carruthers, 2009, Compl. Guide Frogs S. Afr.: 140-141, provided brief accounts for southern Africa. Pickersgill, 2007, Frog Search: 521-525, regarded populations of Sclerophrys garmani (as Bufo) from Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to be referable to Sclerophrys poweri (as Bufo). See comment by Broadley, 2007, Afr. J. Herpetol., 56: 175-177, regarding the assignment of southern African populations to Sclerophrys poweri (as Bufo). See account (as Bufo garmani), photograph, and map for Ethiopia by Largen and Spawls, 2010, Amph. Rept. Ethiopia Eritrea: 87. Mercurio, 2011, Amph. Malawi: 110-115, provided an account for Malawi and discussed the issue of relationship with Amietophrynus poweri. Harper, Measey, Patrick, Menegon, and Vonesh, 2010, Field Guide Amph. E. Arc Mts. Tanzania and Kenya: 104–105, provided a brief account. Marques, Ceríaco, Blackburn, and Bauer, 2018, Proc. California Acad. Sci., Ser. 4, 65 (Suppl. II): 71–72, provided a map for Angola, provided a brief account, noting uncertainty surrounding the identity of the population in southwestern Angola. Du Preez and Carruthers, 2017, Frogs S. Afr., Compl. Guide: 186–187, provided a brief account for southern Africa, including a polygon range map, photograph, identification features, adult and larval morphology, habitat, and call. Phaka, Netherlands, Kruger, and Du Preez, 2017, Bilingual Field Guide Frogs Zululand: 31, provided a photograph, Zululand regional map, and a brief account of life history and identification. Spawls, Wasonga, and Drewes, 2019, Amph. Kenya: 9, provided a range map for Kenya, photograph, and brief characterization. Channing and Rödel, 2019, Field Guide Frogs & Other Amph. Afr.: 62–63, provided a brief account, photograph, and range map. Baptista, António, and Branch, 2019, Amph. Rept. Conserv., 13 (e203): 96–130, reported on specimens from Bicuar National Park, southwestern Angola, and suggested that the synonymy of Bufo regularis humbensis Monard, 1937, deserves revisiting. Spawls, Mazuch, and Mohammad, 2023, Handb. Amph. Rept. NE Afr.: 38–39, provided an account addressing identification, natural history, conservation status, and range in northeastern Africa, including a polygon map. 

External links:

Please note: these links will take you to external websites not affiliated with the American Museum of Natural History. We are not responsible for their content.