Search tool	Example of search string in box	What that means to the database
* = "wildcard". Allows a partial letter string to be entered and implies either no or various extension on this letter string	Hyl*	Will find all uses of "Hyl . . ." anywhere in a record: e.g., Hylarana, Hyla, Hylidae, Hylinae, Hylaedactyla.
* = "wildcard". Allows a partial letter string to be entered and implies either no or various extension on this letter string	*Hyla	Will find all uses of ". . . hyla" anywhere in a record: e.g., Hyla, Hylidae, Plectrohyla, Ptychadena hylaea, Adenomera hylaedactyla
	Hyla	Will find all records that contain stand-alone uses of Hyla: e.g., Hyla, Hyla arenicolor
Strings of words without quotation marks	Lithobates pipiens	Interprets this as "Lithobates OR pipiens" so will find the union of all records that contain either "Lithobates" or "pipiens": e.g., Lithobates omiltemanus, Hylorana pipiens
Strings of word with quotation marks	"Lithobates pipiens"	Interprets this as "Lithobates AND pipiens" so will return all records that have the character string "Lithobates pipiens" anywhere within a record: e.g., all members of the Lithobates pipiens complex.
AND statement. Means that the results of the search must include both words held together by an AND	Lithobates AND pipiens	Same as "Lithobates pipiens"
OR statement. Means that the results of the search will all records that have either of the terms held together by an OR	Lithobates OR "Costa Rica"	Recovers all records that contain the word "Lithobates" or "Costa Rica": 402 records inasmuch as this will include all records for the entire amphibian fauna of Costa Rica
Combining Boolean operators within the Basic Search box (AND, OR, NOT, quotation marks)	Lithobates AND "Costa Rica" NOT forreri	Recovers only records that contain the word Lithobates AND "Costa Rica", but excludes any record that contains the word "forreri" in any part of the record: 9 records
Printable HELP file

Search tool	Example of search string in box	What that means to the database
* = "wildcard". Allows a partial letter string to be entered and implies either no or various extension on this letter string	Hyl*	Will find all uses of "Hyl . . ." anywhere in a record: e.g., Hylarana, Hyla, Hylidae, Hylinae, Hylaedactyla.
* = "wildcard". Allows a partial letter string to be entered and implies either no or various extension on this letter string	*Hyla	Will find all uses of ". . . hyla" anywhere in a record: e.g., Hyla, Hylidae, Plectrohyla, Ptychadena hylaea, Adenomera hylaedactyla
Single word	Hyla	Will find all records that contain stand-alone uses of Hyla: e.g., Hyla, Hyla arenicolor
Strings of words without quotation marks	Lithobates pipiens	Interprets this as "Lithobates OR pipiens" so will find the union of all records that contain either "Lithobates" or "pipiens": e.g., Lithobates omiltemanus, Hylorana pipiens
Strings of word with quotation marks	"Lithobates pipiens"	Interprets this as "Lithobates AND pipiens" so will return all records that have the character string "Lithobates pipiens" anywhere within a record: e.g., all members of the Lithobates pipiens complex.
AND statement. Means that the results of the search must include both words held together by an AND	Lithobates AND pipiens	Same as "Lithobates pipiens"
OR statement. Means that the results of the search will all records that have either of the terms held together by an OR	Lithobates OR "Costa Rica"	Recovers all records that contain the word "Lithobates" or "Costa Rica": 402 records inasmuch as this will include all records for the entire amphibian fauna of Costa Rica
Combining Boolean operators within the Basic Search box (AND, OR, NOT, quotation marks)	Lithobates AND "Costa Rica" NOT forreri	Recovers only records that contain the word Lithobates AND "Costa Rica", but excludes any record that contains the word "forreri" in any part of the record: 9 records
Printable HELP file

Hyperolius tuberilinguis Smith, 1849

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

Hyperolius tuberilinguis Smith, 1849, Illust. Zool. S. Afr., 3 (Appendix): 26. Types: possibly BMNH, but not found by Poynton and Broadley, 1987, Ann. Natal Mus., 28: 194. Type locality: "the country to the eastward of the Cape Colony", Rep. South Africa. Rendered as "Kaffraria" by Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 125, who did not note any BMNH specimens.

Euchnemis salinae Bianconi, 1849 "1848", Nuovi Ann. Sci. Nat., Bologna, Ser. 2, 10: 107. Holotype: MZUB 100176, according to Bonfitto, 1991, Boll. Mus. Reg. Sci. Nat. Torino, 9: 362. Type locality: "Mozambico"; restricted to "Inhambane, Mozambico" by Bonfitto, 1991, Boll. Mus. Reg. Sci. Nat. Torino, 9: 362. Synonymy by Laurent, 1972, Explor. Parc Natl. Virunga, Ser. 2, 22: 78; and Poynton and Broadley, 1987, Ann. Natal Mus., 28: 194.

Hyperolius coccotis Cope, 1862, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 14: 342. Holotype: ANSP. Type locality: "Umvoti", KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Synonymy by Loveridge, 1938, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, 51: 213–214; Loveridge, 1941, Ann. Transvaal Mus., 20: 286; Poynton, 1964, Ann. Natal Mus., 17: 189.

Hyperolius salinae — Günther, 1864, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1864: 307.

Rappia salinae — Günther, 1869 "1868", Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1868: 487; Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 123.

Rappia tuberilinguis — Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 125.

Rappia sansibarica Pfeffer, 1893, Jahrb. Hamburg. Wiss. Anst., 10: 97. Types: ZMH, destroyed. Type locality: "Sansibar" (= Zanzibar), Tanzania. Synonymy by Poynton, 1964, Ann. Natal Mus., 17: 189.

Rappia zanzibarica — Tornier, 1896, in Möbius (ed.), Deutsch Ost-Afr., 3: 135. Incorrect subsequent spelling.

Hyperolius salinae — Noble, 1924, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 49: 252, 329.

Hyperolius sansibaricus — Noble, 1924, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 49: 251, 329; Loveridge, 1936, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 79: 400.

Hyperolius tuberilinguis — Noble, 1924, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 49: 252, 330; Ahl, 1931, Das Tierreich, 55: 387.

Hyperolius mossambicus Parker, 1931 "1930", Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1930: 904. Holotype: BMNH 1929.12.20.312, by original designation. Type locality: "Fambani River, Mozambique". Synonymy by Poynton, 1964, Ann. Natal Mus., 17: 189.

Hyperolius citrinus sansibaricus — Loveridge, 1942, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 91: 379, 407.

Hyperolius kivuensis smaragdinus Laurent, 1948 "1947", Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Ser. 11, 14: 294. Holotype: BMNH 1929.12.20.291, by original designation. Type locality: "Charre, Mozambique". Synonymy with Hyperolius concolor tuberilinguis by Loveridge, 1953, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 110: 329, 354.

Hyperolius sansibaricus loveridgei Laurent, 1948 "1947", Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Ser. 11, 14: 294. Holotype: MCZ 25240, by original designation. Type locality: "Kitaya (Tanganyika Terr.)", Tanzania. Synonymy with Hyperolius concolor tuberilinguis by Loveridge, 1953, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 110: 329, 354.

Hyperolius concolor tuberilinguis — Loveridge, 1953, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 110: 329, 354.

Hyperolius concolor sansibaricus — Loveridge, 1957, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 117: 332.

Hyperolius tuberilinguis — Schiøtz, 1975, Treefrogs E. Afr.: 119–122.

Common Names

Green Reed Frog (Wager, 1965, Frogs S. Afr.: 200; Van Dijk, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 17: 16; Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 7; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 248).

Tinker Reed Frog (Broadley, 1973, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 10: 24; Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 7; Broadley, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 35; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 248; Lambiris, 1990 "1989", Monogr. Mus. Reg. Sci. Nat. Torino, 10: 164; Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 183; Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 184; Alexander, 2004, in Minter et al. (eds.), Atlas Frogs S. Afr. Lesotho and Swaziland: 149-150; Du Preez and Carruthers, 2009, Compl. Guide Frogs S. Afr.: 270 Spawls, Mazuch, and Mohammad, 2023, Handb. Amph. Rept. NE Afr.: 72).

Straw-or-Green Sedge Frog (Ananjeva, Borkin, Darevsky, and Orlov, 1988, Dict. Amph. Rept. Five Languages: 74).

Yellow-green Reed Frog (Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 7; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 248).

Smith's Reed Frog (Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 68).

Tinker Reed Frog (Channing and Rödel, 2019, Field Guide Frogs & Other Amph. Afr.: 184; Spawls, Mazuch, and Mohammad, 2023, Handb. Amph. Rept. NE Afr.: 72).

Distribution

Savanna region from southern Somalia, south along the coast plain through Kenya, Tanzania, to Malawi, Mozambique, and eastern Zimbabwe, to extreme western KwaZulu-Natal (Rep. South Africa).

Geographic Occurrence

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

Comment

In the Hyperolius concolor superspecies, according to Schiøtz, 1975, Treefrogs E. Afr.: 112. Pallett and Passmore, 1987, Bioacoustics, 1: 13–23, discussed advertisement call. See accounts by Lambiris, 1988, Lammergeyer, 39: 139–140, Schiøtz, 1999, Treefrogs Afr.: 164–165, Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 183–184, Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 184–185, Alexander, 2004, in Minter et al. (eds.), Atlas Frogs S. Afr. Lesotho and Swaziland: 149–150, Pickersgill, 2007, Frog Search: 328–334, and Du Preez and Carruthers, 2009, Compl. Guide Frogs S. Afr.: 270–271. Mercurio, 2011, Amph. Malawi: 198–199, provided an account for Malawi. Channing, Rödel, and Channing, 2012, Tadpoles of Africa: 2216, provided information on comparative larval morphology. Harper, Measey, Patrick, Menegon, and Vonesh, 2010, Field Guide Amph. E. Arc Mts. Tanzania and Kenya: 208–209, provided a brief account and photograph. Ohler and Frétey, 2014, J. E. Afr. Nat. Hist., 103: 89–90, provided a brief discussion of a collection from northern Mozambique. Du Preez and Carruthers, 2017, Frogs S. Afr., Compl. Guide: 292–293, provided an account, including a polygon range map for southern Africa, photograph, identification features, adult and larval morphology, habitat, and call. Phaka, Netherlands, Kruger, and Du Preez, 2017, Bilingual Field Guide Frogs Zululand: 46, provided a photograph, Zululand regional map, and a brief account of life history and identification. Spawls, Wasonga, and Drewes, 2019, Amph. Kenya: 25, provided a range map for Kenya, photograph, and brief characterization. Channing and Rödel, 2019, Field Guide Frogs & Other Amph. Afr.: 184–185, provided a brief account, photograph, and range map. Spawls, Mazuch, and Mohammad, 2023, Handb. Amph. Rept. NE Afr.: 72–73, provided an account addressing identification, natural history, conservation status, and range in southern Somalia, including a polygon map. Miguel, Kaiser, Vargas, and Borges-Martins, 2025, Herpetol. Notes, 18: 635–650, reported records from eastern Gilé National Park, eastern Zambesia, Mozambique, and briefly discussed the identification, range, and habitat in Mozambique. Gedow Amira and Hussein Numin, 2026, Checklist Amph. Rept. Somalia, 1st Ed.: 27, detailed the known distribution in Somalia by administrative region (gobol). Kopij, 2026, Biology, 15: 1–27, noted small but inviable introduced populations in the Cape Town region of South Africa.

External links:

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For additional information see AmphibiaWeb report
For information on conservation status and distribution see the IUCN Redlist
For related information on conservation and images as well as observations see iNaturalist