Hyperolius pictus Ahl, 1931

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

Hyperolius pictus Ahl, 1931, Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berlin, 17: 44 . Holotype: ZMB unnumbered, according to the original publication; lost according to Laurent, 1985, in Frost (ed.), Amph. Species World: 215, and Poynton and Broadley, 1987, Ann. Natal Mus., 28: 195); ZMB 86001 is holotype according to Tillack, de Ruiter, and Rödel, 2021, Zoosyst. Evol., Berlin, 97: 432. MCZ 17644–45 (on exchange from ZMB) are paratypes according to Barbour and Loveridge, 1946, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 96: 130). Type locality: "Krater des Ngori-See's", Tanzania. The description in Ahl, 1931, Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berlin, 17: 44, appeared a few weeks later according to Tillack, de Ruiter, and Rödel, 2021, Zoosyst. Evol., Berlin, 97: 407–450. 

Hyperolius ngoriensis  Ahl, 1931, Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berlin, 17: 60. Syntypes: ZMB (4 specimens) unnumbered, according to the original publication; ZMB 85760–85763 are syntypes according to Tillack, de Ruiter, and Rödel, 2021, Zoosyst. Evol., Berlin, 97: 429.. Type locality: "Krater des Ngori-Sees (Deutsch-Ostafrika" (= Ngosi Crater Lake, Tanzania). Synonymy (with Hyperolius marginatus) by Loveridge, 1933, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 74: 346. The description in Ahl, 1931, Das Tierreich, 55: 324, appeared a few weeks later according Tillack, de Ruiter, and Rödel, 2021, Zoosyst. Evol., Berlin, 97: 407–450.

English Names

Ahl's Painted Reed Frog (Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 67).

Variable Reed Frog (Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 172).

Variable Montane Sedge Frog (Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 174 [alternative name]).

Distribution

Open grassland in highlands of southern Tanzania (Udzungwa Mountains, Southern Highlands, and Ufipa Plateau), northern Malawi, and extreme northwestern Zambia.

Comment

Removed from the synonymy of Hyperolius marginatus by Schiøtz, 1975, Treefrogs E. Afr.: 135, where it had been placed by Loveridge, 1933, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 74: 346. Formerly considered a synonym of Hyperolius kivuensis by Laurent, 1943, Ann. Mus. R. Congo Belge, Tervuren, Zool., 4: 67. See accounts by  Schiøtz, 1999, Treefrogs Afr.: 184–185, Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 172–173, Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 174–176, and Pickersgill, 2007, Frog Search: 360–362. Mercurio, 2011, Amph. Malawi: 181–182, provided an account for Malawi. Channing, Rödel, and Channing, 2012, Tadpoles of Africa: 219–220, reported on comparative tadpole morphology. Harper, Measey, Patrick, Menegon, and Vonesh, 2010, Field Guide Amph. E. Arc Mts. Tanzania and Kenya: 192–193, provided a brief account and photograph. Channing and Rödel, 2019, Field Guide Frogs & Other Amph. Afr.: 208–209, provided a brief account, photograph, and range map. 

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