Phrynobatrachus mababiensis FitzSimons, 1932

Class: Amphibia > Order: Anura > Family: Phrynobatrachidae > Genus: Phrynobatrachus > Species: Phrynobatrachus mababiensis

Phrynobatrachus mababiensis FitzSimons, 1932, Ann. Transvaal Mus., 15: 40. Holotype: TMP 14838 (formerly Vernay-Lang Kalahari Expedition 986), by original designation. Type locality: "Tsotsoroga Pan, Mababe Flats", Rep. South Africa.

Phrynobatrachus vanrooyeni Hoffman, 1940, Soöl. Navors. Nas. Mus. Bloemfontein, 1: 99. Holotype: NMB 2092, by original designation. Type locality: "farm Broedershoek, [near] Greytown, Natal", Rep. South Africa. Synonymy by Loveridge, 1953, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 110: 329, 381; and Poynton, 1964, Ann. Natal Mus., 17: 141.

Phrynobatrachus chitialaensis Hoffman, 1944, Soöl. Navors. Nas. Mus. Bloemfontein, 1: 177. Holotype: NMB A2672, by original designation. Type locality: "Chitiala [= Chitala River], Nyasaland", Tanzania. Synonymy by Loveridge, 1953, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 110: 329, 381.

Phrynobatrachus broomi FitzSimons, 1948, Spec. Publ. R. Soc. S. Afr.: 239. Holotype: TMP 21717, by original designation. Type locality: "Mount Edgecombe, near Durban, Natal", Rep. South Africa. Synonymy by Poynton, 1964, Ann. Natal Mus., 17: 141.

Phrynobatrachus ukingensis mababiensisLoveridge, 1953, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 110: 329, 381; Loveridge, 1953, Q. J. Florida Acad. Sci., 16: 149; Poynton, 1969 "1966", Mem. Inst. Invest. Cient. Moçambique, Ser. A, Cienc. Biol., 8: 23.

Phrynobatrachus mababiensisPassmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 170.

Common Names

Mababe Puddle Frog (Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 305; Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 284; Spawls, Mazuch, and Mohammad, 2023, Handb. Amph. Rept. NE Afr.: 86).

Dwarf Puddle Frog (Pienaar, 1963, Koedoe, 6: 80; Wager, 1965, Frogs S. Afr.: 164; Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 6; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 170; Channing, 2004, in Minter et al. (eds.), Atlas Frogs S. Afr. Lesotho and Swaziland: 251).

Common Cricket Frog (Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 170).

Mababi Puddle Frog (Lambiris, 1990 "1989", Monogr. Mus. Reg. Sci. Nat. Torino, 10: 128).

Mababe River Frog (Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 103).

Chitiala Frog (Phrynobatrachus chitialaensis [no longer recognized]: Cochran, 1961, Living Amph. World: 162).

Distribution

Savannas of East Africa (Tanzania and extreme southern Somalia) to Transkei (Rep. South Africa), west to northern Namibia, Botswana, and throughout Angola; southern Dem. Rep. Congo and southern Kenya. See comment. 

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: Angola, Botswana, Congo, Democratic Republic of the, Eswatini, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Comment

Probably a subspecies of Phrynobatrachus ukingensis according to R. Laurent In Grandison, 1985, in Frost (ed.), Amph. Species World: 447). J.C. Poynton In Grandison, 1985, in Frost (ed.), Amph. Species World: 447, disagreed and suggested that Phrynobatrachus mababiensis more closely resembles Phrynobatrachus parvulus, a taxon not distinguished from Phrynobatrachus mababiensis by Loveridge, 1953, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 110: 381. See Poynton and Broadley, 1985, Ann. Natal Mus., 27: 165–169, for a discussion of the types of Phrynobatrachus parvulus, Phrynobatrachus ukingensis, and Phrynobatrachus mababiensisAuerbach, 1987, Amph. Rept. Botswana: 52–53, provided a summary account and grid map for Botswana. See accounts by Lambiris, 1988, Lammergeyer, 39: 107–108, Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 305–307, Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 284–285, Channing, 2004, in Minter et al. (eds.), Atlas Frogs S. Afr. Lesotho and Swaziland: 251–253, and Pickersgill, 2007, Frog Search: 180–184 (who regarded this taxon to likely be a junior synonym of Phrynobatrachus albifer on the basis of examination of the holotype). Frétey, 2008, Alytes, 25: 99–172, summarized the literature. Lötters, Wagner, Bwong, Schick, Malonza, Muchai, Wasonga, and Veith, 2007, Fieldguide Amph. Rept. Kakamega Forest: 15–16, provided an account for Phrynobatrachus cf mababiensis. In species group B of Zimkus, Rödel, and Hillers, 2010, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 55: 883–900, who noted that nominal Phrynobatrachus mababiensis covers two distantly related species. Zimkus and Schick, 2010, Syst. Biodiversity, 8: 39–47, noted that nominal Phrynobatrachus mababiensis appears to be composed of at least three lineages. Mercurio, 2011, Amph. Malawi: 221–224, provided an account for Malawi. Channing, Rödel, and Channing, 2012, Tadpoles of Africa: 278–279, provided information on comparative larval morphology. Du Preez and Carruthers, 2017, Frogs S. Afr., Compl. Guide: 316–317, provided an account, including a polygon range map for southern Africa, photograph, identification features, adult and larval morphology, habitat, and call. Ohler and Frétey, 2014, J. E. Afr. Nat. Hist., 103: 92, provided a brief discussion of a collection from northern Mozambique. Conradie, Bittencourt-Silva, Engelbrecht, Loader, Menegon, Nanvonamuquitxo, Scott, and Tolley, 2016, Zoosyst. Evol., Berlin, 92: 163–180, reported populations from Mount Namuli (Zambezia Province) and Mount M'pàluwé (Nampula Province), Mozambique. Marques, Ceríaco, Blackburn, and Bauer, 2018, Proc. California Acad. Sci., Ser. 4, 65 (Suppl. II): 144–145, provided a map for Angola and brief discussion of the literature, noting the problematic nature of identifications. Phaka, Netherlands, Kruger, and Du Preez, 2017, Bilingual Field Guide Frogs Zululand: 51, provided a photograph, Zululand regional map, and a brief account of life history and identification. Butler, Ceríaco, Marques, Bandeira, Júlio, Heinicke, and Bauer, 2019, Herpetol. Rev., 50: 225–240, reported on a collection (as Phrynobatrachus cf. mababiensis) from Huila Province, southwestern Angola. See Bittencourt-Silva, 2019, Amph. Rept. Conserv., 13 (2: e181): 8, briefly discussed confusion with Phrynobatrachus cf. parvulus in western Zambia. Spawls, Wasonga, and Drewes, 2019, Amph. Kenya: 46, provided a photograph, range map, and brief characterization. Channing and Rödel, 2019, Field Guide Frogs & Other Amph. Afr.: 296–297, provided a brief account, photograph, and range map. Baptista, António, and Branch, 2019, Amph. Rept. Conserv., 13 (e203): 96–130, reported on specimens from Bicuar National Park, southwestern Angola. In the Phrynobatrachus calcaratus group of Goutte, Reyes-Velasco, and Boissinot, 2019, ZooKeys, 824: 53–70. Ernst, Lautenschläger, Branquima, and Hölting, 2020, Zoosyst. Evol., 96: 255, noted the presence of Phrynobatrachus cf. mababiensis, in Uigé Province, northwestern Angola. Conradie, Keates, Verburgt, Baptista, and Harvey, 2023, Amph. Rept. Conserv., 17: 40–41, provided an account and dot map of the species in Angola. Spawls, Mazuch, and Mohammad, 2023, Handb. Amph. Rept. NE Afr.: 87–88, provided an account addressing identification, natural history, conservation status, and range in Somalia.  

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