Hyperolius microps Günther, 1864

Class: Amphibia > Order: Anura > Family: Hyperoliidae > Subfamily: Hyperoliinae > Genus: Hyperolius > Species: Hyperolius microps

Hyperolius microps Günther, 1864, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1864: 311. Syntypes: BMNH 1863.12.11.27 (reregistered 1947.2.9.62) and 1934.9.1.4 (reregistered 1947.2.9.67) according to museum records. Type locality: "Rovuma Bay", extreme northern Mozambique; given as Unknown and "Zambesi Expedition" by Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 127. 

Rappia microps — Günther, 1869 "1868", Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1868: 481; Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 127.

Hyperolius microps — Noble, 1924, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 49: 326.

Hyperolius acuticeps  Ahl, 1931, Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berlin, 17: 29. Syntypes: ZMB (2 specimens) unnumbered according to the original publication; ZMB 36039 (2 specimens), according to Laurent, 1961, Rev. Zool. Bot. Afr., 64: 93; one of the two renumbered ZMB 65176 according to Tillack, de Ruiter, and Rödel, 2021, Zoosyst. Evol., Berlin, 97: 415. Type locality: "Konde-Nika, Deutsch-Ost-Afrika", according to Tillack, de Ruiter, and Rödel, 2021, Zoosyst. Evol., Berlin, 97: 415, the locality is in "a small area at the northern tip of Lake Malawi as follows: limited in the east by Lake Malawi, in the northeast by the slopes of the Livingstone Mountains [Kipengere Range], in the southeast by the Untali and Malila Mountains, in the north by Rungwe Volcano and in the south by the lower reaches of the Ssongwe (Songwe River)". Synonymy with Hyperolius nasutus by Loveridge, 1953, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 110: 329, 362; Laurent, 1961, Rev. Zool. Bot. Afr., 64: 93 (considered a subspecies of Hyperolius nasutus). Formerly considered a junior synonym of Megalixalus brachycnemis by Loveridge, 1933, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 74: 346. Synonymy by Ohler and Frétey, 2014, J. E. Afr. Nat. Hist., 103: 73. 

Hyperolius usaramoae Loveridge, 1932, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 45: 63. Holotype: MCZ 13363, by original designation. Type locality: "Mogogoni swamp, south of Dar es Salaam, Usaramo, Tanganyika Territory [Tanzania]". Synonymy with Hyperolius microps by Loveridge, 1932, in errata attached to reprint of orignal description; Loveridge, 1936, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 79: 372; Loveridge, 1938, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 51: 213–214; and Ohler and Frétey, 2014, J. E. Afr. Nat. Hist., 103: 87. 

Hyperolius nasutus acuticeps — Laurent, 1961, Rev. Zool. Bot. Afr., 64: 92.

Common Names

Sharp-headed Long Reed Frog (Channing, Hillers, Lötters, Rödel, Schick, Conradie, Rödder, Mercurio, Wagner, Dehling, Du Preez, Kielgast, and Burger, 2013, Zootaxa, 3620: 310, as Hyperolis acuticeps). 

Long Reed Frog (Wager, 1965, Frogs S. Afr.: 207; Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 7; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 252; Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 165–166 [as Hyperolius nasutus]).

Sharp-nosed Reed Frog (Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 7; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 252; Channing, Moyer, and Burger, 2002, Afr. Zool., 37: 95 [all as Hyperolius nasutus]).

Sharp-nosed Reed Frog (Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 149; Bishop, 2004, in Minter et al. (eds.), Atlas Frogs S. Afr. Lesotho and Swaziland: 136; Du Preez and Carruthers, 2009, Compl. Guide Frogs S. Afr.: 240).

Long Reed Frog (Channing, Moyer, and Burger, 2002, Afr. Zool., 37: 96 [as Hyperolius nasutus]).

Green Long Reed Frog (Hyperolius nasutus: Broadley, 1973, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 10: 24 [as Hyperolius nasutus]).

Brown Long Reed Frog (Hyperolius granulatus: Broadley, 1973, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 10: 24 [as Hyperolius nasutus]).

Günther's Sharp-nosed Reed Frog (Lambiris, 1990 "1989", Monogr. Mus. Reg. Sci. Nat. Torino, 10: 169 [as Hyperolius nasutus]).

Sharp-headed Reed Frog (Channing and Rödel, 2019, Field Guide Frogs & Other Amph. Afr.: 180). 

Distribution

Presently only confirmed from northern Malawi on the Nyika Plateau and Chongoni and Kaningina Forest Reserves, and the type locality in extreme northern Mozambique, as well as coastal Tanzania and Kenya; presumably extending into adjacent Zambia; reported from southwestern Ethiopia (see comment). 

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania

Likely/Controversially Present: Ethiopia, Zambia

Comment

Hyperolius poweri was removed from the synonymy of Hyperolius nasutus by Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 173, where it had been placed by Loveridge, 1953, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 110: 329, 362; Laurent, 1961, Rev. Zool. Bot. Afr., 64: 93 (considered a subspecies of Hyperolius nasutus), and Poynton, 1964, Ann. Natal Mus., 17: 192. Much of the literature of "Hyperolius nasutus" is therefore descriptive of Hyperolius acuticeps and Hyperolius poweri. Channing, Moyer, and Burger, 2002, Afr. Zool., 37: 91–99, redefined the species and provided a discussion of close relatives (Hyperolius viridis and Hyperolius nasutus); but Schiøtz, 2006, Alytes, 24: 61–71, for a discussion of the issues. See account (as Hyperolius nasutus) of Ethiopian population by Largen, 1998, Tropical Zool., 11: 61–82, and by Largen and Spawls, 2010, Amph. Rept. Ethiopia Eritrea: 115. The status of these Ethiopian populations are now unclear given the instability of the systematics of this group. In the Hyperolius nasutus group of Amiet, 2005, Rev. Suisse Zool., 112: 271–310, who (p. 293) noted that it might be synonymous with Hyperolius nasutus. Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 149–151, Schiøtz, 2006, Alytes, 24: 61–71, provided relevant discussion of the taxonomic difficulties surrounding this species. Jacobsen, 2009, Afr. Herp News, 47: 2–20, reported this species from east-north-central Central African Republic, but this identification is necessarily suspect in this very difficult group. Mercurio, 2011, Amph. Malawi: 172–180, provided an account (as Hyperolius nasutus-complex) for this taxon in Malawi. Channing, Hillers, Lötters, Rödel, Schick, Conradie, Rödder, Mercurio, Wagner, Dehling, Du Preez, Kielgast, and Burger, 2013, Zootaxa, 3620: 310, provided an account and redelimitation of the species. Channing, Rödel, and Channing, 2012, Tadpoles of Africa: 204–205, reported on comparative tadpole morphology. Hyperolius microps was removed from the synonymy of Hyperolius pusillus by by Ohler and Frétey, 2014, J. E. Afr. Nat. Hist., 103: 73 (who regarded it as the senior name for former Hyperolius acuticeps and provided a discussion of a collection from northern Mozambique) where it had been placed by Loveridge, 1936, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 79: 372, and Poynton, 1964, Ann. Natal Mus., 17: 191. Du Preez and Carruthers, 2017, Frogs S. Afr., Compl. Guide: 268–269, provided an account, including a polygon range map for southern Africa, photograph, identification features, adult morphology, habitat, and call. Spawls, Wasonga, and Drewes, 2019, Amph. Kenya: 20, provided a range map for Kenya, photograph, and brief characterization. Channing and Rödel, 2019, Field Guide Frogs & Other Amph. Afr.: 180–181, provided a brief account, photograph, and range map. Tillack, de Ruiter, and Rödel, 2021, Zoosyst. Evol., Berlin, 97: 415, discussed the provenance of the types of Hyperolius acuticeps and the correct citation of the description (not Ahl, 1931, Das Tierreich, 55: 282, who illustrated the type). Kassie Teme, Bekele Simegn, Afework Bogale, Goutte, and Boissinot, 2023, Diversity, 15(300): 1–22, reported Hyperolius microps from Keffa, southwestern Ethiopia, on the basis of 16s mtDNA although this requires confirmation due to the distance of this record geographically and ecologically from the main distribution (DRF). 

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