Afrixalus fornasini (Bianconi, 1849)

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

Euchnemis fornasini Bianconi, 1849 "1848", Nuovi Ann. Sci. Nat., Bologna, Ser. 2, 10: 107. Syntypes: MZUB 100174, 100174a, and 100064, according to Bonfitto, 1991, Boll. Mus. Reg. Sci. Nat. Torino, 9: 364; Type locality: "Mozambico"; restricted to "Inhambane, Mozambico", by Bonfitto, 1991, Boll. Mus. Reg. Sci. Nat. Torino, 9: 362. (Only a single individual in original description—DRF.)

Hyperolius bivittatus Peters, 1854, Ber. Bekannt. Verhandl. K. Preuss. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1854: 627. Syntypes: ZMB 4529 (7 specimens), according to Bauer, Günther, and Klipfel, 1995, in Bauer et al. (eds.), Herpetol. Contr. W.C.H. Peters: 44, now ZMB 4529 and ZMB 52503–09 according to Tillack, de Ruiter, and Rödel, 2021, Zoosyst. Evol., Berlin, 97: 418. Type locality: "Boror" [= Companhia do Boror, Zambezia Province, Mozambique]; rendered, apparently incorrectly, as "Tette" and "Mozambique" by Ahl, 1930, Sitzungsber. Ges. Naturforsch. Freunde Berlin, 1930: 101. Synonymy by Günther, 1859 "1858", Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus.: 87; Peters, 1882, Naturwiss. Reise Mossambique, Zool. 3: 160; Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 130.

Hyperolius fornasinii — Günther, 1859 "1858", Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus.: 87. Incorrect subsequent spelling.

Rappia fornasinii — Günther, 1869 "1868", Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1868: 479.

Megalixalus fornasinii — Peters, 1882, Naturwiss. Reise Mossambique, Zool. 3: 160; Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 130.

Megalixalus fornasinii var. unicolor Boettger, 1913, in Voeltzkow (ed.), Reise Ost-Afr., 3(4): 349. Syntypes: SMF, MCZ 15429 (on exchange from SMF, according to Barbour and Loveridge, 1946, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 96: 153); SMF 7274 designated lectotype by Mertens, 1967, Senckenb. Biol., 48(A): 48. Type locality: Pemba Island, Tanzania.

Megalixalus fornasinii — Nieden, 1915, Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berlin, 7: 372. Loveridge, 1942, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 91: 395.

Megalixalus loveridgii Procter, 1920, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1920: 418. Holotype: BMNH 1947.2.9.83 (originally numbered 1920.5.10.24), according to museum records. Type locality: "Morogoro", Kenya. Synonymy by Parker, 1931 "1930", Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1930: 900.

Megalixalus unicolor — Ahl, 1930, Sitzungsber. Ges. Naturforsch. Freunde Berlin, 1930: 101; Ahl, 1931, Das Tierreich, 55: 443.

Megalixalus fornasinii loveridgei — Parker, 1931 "1930", Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1930: 900. Suggested as a likely arrangement. Status rejected by Loveridge, 1955, J. E. Afr. Nat. Hist. Soc., 22: 195.

Afrixalus fornasinii — Guibé, 1948, Bull. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. Paris, Ser. 2, 20: 500, by implication.

Afrixalus fornasinii fornasinii — Guibé, 1948, Bull. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. Paris, Ser. 2, 20: 500, by implication; Laurent, 1951, Ann. Soc. R. Zool. Belg., 82: 24; Loveridge, 1953, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 110: 345.

Afrixalus unicolor — Guibé, 1948, Bull. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. Paris, Ser. 2, 20: 500, by implication.

Afrixalus fornasinii unicolor — Laurent, 1951, Ann. Soc. R. Zool. Belg., 82: 24. Status rejected by Loveridge, 1955, J. E. Afr. Nat. Hist. Soc., 22: 195.

Afrixalus fornasinii — Schiøtz, 1974, Vidensk. Medd. Dansk Naturhist. Foren., 137: 12. Rejected by Schiøtz, 1999, Treefrogs Afr.: 67.

Afrixalus unicolor — Pickersgill, 1996, Herptile, 21: 81; Pickersgill, 2007, Frog Search: 469.

English Names

Fornasini's Frog (Hewitt, 1937, Guide Vert. Fauna E. Cape Province, Rept. Amph. Fishes: 113).

Spiny Reed Frog (Wager, 1965, Frogs S. Afr.: 192).

Greater Leaf-folding Frog (Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 7; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 238; Pickersgill and Bishop, 2004, in Minter et al. (eds.), Atlas Frogs S. Afr. Lesotho and Swaziland: 127; Du Preez and Carruthers, 2009, Compl. Guide Frogs S. Afr.: 230).

Brown and White Spiny Reed Frog (Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 7; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 238).

Brown-striped Spiny Reed Frog (Ananjeva, Borkin, Darevsky, and Orlov, 1988, Dict. Amph. Rept. Five Languages: 70).

Fornasini's Banana Frog (Broadley, 1973, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 10: 23; Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 7; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 238).

Fornasini's Spiny Reed Frog (Lambiris, 1990 "1989", Monogr. Mus. Reg. Sci. Nat. Torino, 10: 159; Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 134).

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

Fornasini's Spiny Reed Frog (Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 137).

Mozambique Banana Frog (Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 134 [alternative name]).

Silver-banded Banana Frog (Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 134 [alternative name]).

Spiny Leaf-folding Frog (Spawls, Wasonga, and Drewes, 2019, Amph. Kenya: 17). 

Distribution

Savannas of coastal southern Kenya southward through eastern and southern Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, and extreme eastern Zimbabwe to extreme southern coastal KwaZulu-Natal, Rep. South Africa; possibly into Eswatini.

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe

Likely/Controversially Present: Eswatini

Comment

See short accounts in Poynton, 1964, Ann. Natal Mus., 17: 183, Poynton and Broadley, 1987, Ann. Natal Mus., 28: 192–193, and Lambiris, 1988, Lammergeyer, 39: 133–134, as well as a longer one by Schiøtz, 1975, Treefrogs E. Afr.: 81–84. See Schiøtz, 1999, Treefrogs Afr.: 67 for discussion (and rejection) of Afrixalus unicolor. See also accounts by Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 137–139; Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 134–135; Pickersgill and Bishop, 2004, in Minter et al. (eds.), Atlas Frogs S. Afr. Lesotho and Swaziland: 127–128, Pickersgill, 2007, Frog Search: 464–469, and Du Preez and Carruthers, 2009, Compl. Guide Frogs S. Afr.: 230–231. Loader, Poynton, and Mariaux, 2004, Afr. Zool., 39: 71–76, provided a record for Mahenge Mountain in Tanzania and detailed the range. Pickersgill, 2007, Frog Search: 469–472, provided an account for Afrixalus unicolor (Boettger, 1913) by did not address the rejection of this taxon by Schiøtz, 1999, Treefrogs Afr.: 67–69, who provided a brief account and map. Mercurio, 2011, Amph. Malawi: 148–152, provided an account for Malawi. See comments regarding a specimen from Malundwe Mountain, Tanzania, by Lawson and Collett, 2011, Fieldiana, Life Earth Sci., 4: 76. Channing, Rödel, and Channing, 2012, Tadpoles of Africa: 187–188, reported on comparative tadpole morphology. Harper, Measey, Patrick, Menegon, and Vonesh, 2010, Field Guide Amph. E. Arc Mts. Tanzania and Kenya: 160–161, provided a brief account and photograph. Ohler and Frétey, 2014, J. E. Afr. Nat. Hist., 103: 84–85, provided a brief discussion of a colleciton from northern Mozambique. Conradie, Bittencourt-Silva, Engelbrecht, Loader, Menegon, Nanvonamuquitxo, Scott, and Tolley, 2016, Zoosyst. Evol., Berlin, 92: 163–180, reported a population from Mount Mabu, Zambezia Province, Mozambique. Crotti, Barratt, Loader, Gower, and Streicher, 2019, Zool. Scripta, 48: 157–167, reported on the analytical impact of missing data in RADseq data. Phaka, Netherlands, Kruger, and Du Preez, 2017, Bilingual Field Guide Frogs Zululand: 39, provided a photograph, Zululand regional map, and a brief account of life history and identification. Spawls, Wasonga, and Drewes, 2019, Amph. Kenya: 17, provided a range map for Kenya, photograph, and brief characterization. Channing and Rödel, 2019, Field Guide Frogs & Other Amph. Afr.: 158–159, provided a brief account, photograph, and range map. Tillack, de Ruiter, and Rödel, 2021, Zoosyst. Evol., Berlin, 97: 418–419, briefly discussed the description and holotype. 

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