Afrixalus brachycnemis (Boulenger, 1896)

Class: Amphibia > Order: Anura > Family: Hyperoliidae > Subfamily: Hyperoliinae > Genus: Afrixalus > Species: Afrixalus brachycnemis

Megalixalus brachycnemis Boulenger, 1896, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Ser. 6, 17: 403. Syntypes: BMNH 1947.2.9.77–79 (originally numbered 1896.1.28.14-16), according to museum records. Type locality: "Chiradzulu, British Central Africa [= Malawi]". 

Megalixalus (Afrixalus) brachycnemis — Laurent, 1944, Rev. Zool. Bot. Afr., 38: 113–114.

Afrixalus brachycnemis — Guibé, 1948, Bull. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. Paris, Ser. 2, 20: 501; Poynton, 2007 "2006", Afr. J. Herpetol., 55: 167–169. 

Afrixalus brachycnemis brachycnemis — Guibé, 1948, Bull. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. Paris, Ser. 2, 20: 500, by implication; Loveridge, 1953, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 110: 346.

Afrixalus stuhlmanni brachycnemis — Pickersgill, 2005, Steenstrupia, 29: 19.

Common Names

Short-legged Spiny Reed Frog (Afrixalus brachycnemis: Pienaar, 1963, Koedoe, 6: 80; Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 132; Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 132).

Golden Leaf-folding Frog (Afrixalus brachycnemis: Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 7; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 234).

Golden Spiny Reed Frog (Afrixalus brachycnemis: Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 7; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 234; Lambiris, 1990 "1989", Monogr. Mus. Reg. Sci. Nat. Torino, 10: 157).

Short-legged Banana Frog (Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 7; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 234).

Short-limbed Banana Frog (Ananjeva, Borkin, Darevsky, and Orlov, 1988, Dict. Amph. Rept. Five Languages: 70).

Lesser Banana Frog (Broadley, 1973, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 10: 23; Broadley, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 35; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 234).

Malawi Banana Frog (Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 65).

Cat's Eye Reed Frog (Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 7).

Lesser Spiny Reed Frog (Channing and Rödel, 2019, Field Guide Frogs & Other Amph. Afr.: 164).  

Distribution

Malawi and north-central Mozambique to extreme southeastern Tanzania and eastern Zambia. See comment. 

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia

Comment

See Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 132–133, and Pickersgill, 2007, Frog Search: 439–443 (as Afrixalus stuhlmanni brachycnemis) for accounts. Mercurio, 2011, Amph. Malawi: 139–144, provided an account for Malawi.  Portik, Mulungu, Sequeira, and McEntee, 2013, Herpetol. Rev., 44: 395, provided records for Niassa and Zambézia provinces, Mozambique. Ohler and Frétey, 2014, J. E. Afr. Nat. Hist., 103: 85, provided a brief discussion of a collection from northern Mozambique (as Afrixalus stuhlmanni brachcnemis). See Pickersgill, 2005, Steenstrupia, 29: 19, who treated this as a subspecies of Afrixalus stuhlmanni but also detailed the almost complete confusion of names surrounding this lineage and the difficulties in ascertaining the range. Poynton, 2007 "2006", Afr. J. Herpetol., 55: 167–169, discussed the issue of species status, noting that Afrixalus sylvaticus and Afrixalus brachycnemis are separated physically by the Southern Highlands of Tanzania and therefore opted for treating them as distinct lineages. 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. Channing and Rödel, 2019, Field Guide Frogs & Other Amph. Afr.: 164–165, provided a brief account, photograph, and range map.   

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