Ptychadena anchietae (Barboza du Bocage, 1868)

Class: Amphibia > Order: Anura > Family: Ptychadenidae > Genus: Ptychadena > Species: Ptychadena anchietae

Rana anchietae Barboza du Bocage, 1868 "1867", Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1867: 843. Syntypes: MBL T. 9-134 (3 specimens), according to Perret, 1976, Arq. Mus. Bocage, Ser. 2, 6: 19; destroyed in 1978 fire. Poynton, 1964, Ann. Natal Mus., 17: 127 reported that one of the syntypes was referable to Ptychadena oxyrhynchus. Type locality: "Benguella", Angola.

Rana abyssinica Peters, 1881, Sitzungsber. Ges. Naturforsch. Freunde Berlin, 1881: 163. Syntypes: ZMB 7030 (5 specimens), 3299 (5 specimens), ZMUC 072438-41, according to Bauer, Günther, and Klipfel, 1995, in Bauer et al. (eds.), Herpetol. Contr. W.C.H. Peters: 50, who noted that the specimens could not be located in 1994. Type locality: "Ailet (bei Massaua) . . . und . . . Keren (Bogos)", Eritrea. Synonymy by Poynton, 1964, Ann. Natal Mus., 17: 126; Perret, 1976, Arq. Mus. Bocage, Ser. 2, 6: 20, and Perret, 1979, Bull. Soc. Neuchatel. Sci. Nat., 102: 18.

Rana gondokorensis Werner, 1908 "1907", Sitzungsber. Akad. Wiss. Wien, Phys. Math. Naturwiss. Kl., 116: 1891. Holotype: NHMW 16236, according to Häupl, Tiedemann, and Grillitsch, 1994, Kat. Wiss. Samml. Naturhist. Mus. Wien, 9: 31. Type locality: "Tümpel, eine Gehstunde östlich von Gondokoro", Sudan. Synonymy by Guibé and Lamotte, 1961 "1960", Bull. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. Paris, Ser. 2, 32: 380-391

Rana aberae Ahl, 1925 "1923", Sitzungsber. Ges. Naturforsch. Freunde Berlin, 1923: 97. Holotype: ZMB unnumbered in the original publication. Type locality: "Jandjan (Abessynien)", Ethiopia. Synonymy by Guibé and Lamotte, 1961 "1960", Bull. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. Paris, Ser. 2, 32: 380-391.

Rana oxyrhynchus migiurtina Scortecci, 1933, Atti Soc. Ital. Sci. Nat. Mus. Civ. Stor. Nat. Milano, 72: 12. Syntypes: not stated; given as MSNM 638–640 byConci, 1967, Atti Soc. Ital. Sci. Nat. Mus. Civ. Stor. Nat. Milano, 106: 94; now MSNM Am 614 (formerly 639, 7 specimens), 620 (formerly 638, 5 specimens), 621 (3 specimens),  according to Blackburn and Scali, 2014, Herpetol. Monogr., 28: 33, who discussed the material. Type localities: "Uadi Badulle ed Uadi Arro, distanti unba settantian di chilometri da El Donfar, posti fra I monti dell'Ahl Mascat e queli dell'Ahl Medoh, dove l'acqua è perenne e dove, almeno in vicinanza delle rive", Somalia; "El Donfar un villaggio della Somalia del Nord distante oltre 800 chilometri dall'Uebi". Synonymy by Lanza, 1981, Monit. Zool. Ital., N.S., Suppl., 15: 165.

Ptychadena abyssinicaGuibé and Lamotte, 1961 "1960", Bull. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. Paris, Ser. 2, 32: 384.

Rana (Ptychadena) abyssinicaPienaar, 1963, Koedoe, 6: 79.

Ptychadena anchietaePoynton, 1964, Ann. Natal Mus., 17: 126; Dubois, 1987 "1986", Alytes, 5: 56; by implication.

Ptychadena (Ptychadena) anchietaeDubois, 1992, Bull. Mens. Soc. Linn. Lyon, 61: 316.

English Names

Plain Grass Frog (Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 5; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 154; Lambiris, 1990 "1989", Monogr. Mus. Reg. Sci. Nat. Torino, 10: 108; Minter and Passmore, 2004, in Minter et al. (eds.), Atlas Frogs S. Afr. Lesotho and Swaziland: 286; Du Preez and Carruthers, 2009, Compl. Guide Frogs S. Afr.: 306).

Northern Rana (Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 5; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 154).

Savanna Ridged Frog (Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 5; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 154).

Benguella Grassland Frog (Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 105).

Anchieta's Frog (Van Dijk, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 17: 15).

Anchieta's Ridged Frog (Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 319; Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 300; Lötters, Wagner, Bwong, Schick, Malonza, Muchai, Wasonga, and Veith, 2007, Fieldguide Amph. Rept. Kakamega Forest: 20).

Long-legged Grass Frog (Rana abyssinica [no longer recognized]: Pienaar, 1963, Koedoe, 6: 79).

Anchieta's Grass Frog (Channing and Rödel, 2019, Field Guide Frogs & Other Amph. Afr.: 344).

Distribution

Savannas of Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia and southern Rep. Congo to Katanga Province (Dem. Rep. Congo), south through East and central Africa to northern and eastern Botswana, Mozambique, northeastern Northwestern Province and northern KwaZulu-Natal Province (Rep. South Africa), Eswatini, and Angola; possibly into the Caprivi region of Namibia; presumed to be in Burundi, but no records as of yet. 

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: Angola, Botswana, Congo, Democratic Republic of the, Congo, Republic of the, Djibouti, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Likely/Controversially Present: Burundi, Namibia

Comment

Discussed by Guibé and Lamotte, 1961 "1960", Bull. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. Paris, Ser. 2, 32: 380-391. Tentatively regarded as a synonym of Ptychadena superciliaris by Poynton, 1970, Ann. Natal Mus., 20: 365-375, but this was disputed by Perret, 1976, Arq. Mus. Bocage, Ser. 2, 6: 20, and Perret, 1979, Bull. Soc. Neuchatel. Sci. Nat., 102: 18. Passmore, 1977, S. Afr. J. Sci., 73: 212–214, described the advertisement call. See Poynton and Broadley, 1985, Ann. Natal Mus., 27: 145-147, Lambiris, 1988, Lammergeyer, 39: 83, Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 319-321, and Du Preez and Carruthers, 2009, Compl. Guide Frogs S. Afr.: 306-307, for accounts for southern Africa. See comment under Ptychadena superciliaris. Largen, 2001, Tropical Zool., 14: 335-336, commented on distribution. Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 300-302, provided an account for East Africa. Minter and Passmore, 2004, in Minter et al. (eds.), Atlas Frogs S. Afr. Lesotho and Swaziland: 286-287, provided an account for South Africa. Pickersgill, 2007, Frog Search: 139-143, provided an account and noted substantial geographic variation. Lötters, Wagner, Bwong, Schick, Malonza, Muchai, Wasonga, and Veith, 2007, Fieldguide Amph. Rept. Kakamega Forest: 20-22, provided an account. Bwong, Chira, Schick, Veith, and Lötters, 2009, Salamandra, 45: 129-146, discussed the assignment of a population in western Kenya to this taxon. Largen and Spawls, 2010, Amph. Rept. Ethiopia Eritrea: 169. Mercurio, 2011, Amph. Malawi: 249-252, provided an account for Malawi. Measey, Malonza, and Muchai, 2009, Amph. Taita Hills: 42-45, provided a brief account and photo for the Taita Hills, Kenya. Ng'endo, Kairu, Osiemo, and Ogol, 2011, Acta Herpetol., Firenze, 6: 275-288, compared morphological and molecular differences between this species and an unnamed member of the Ptychadena mascareniensis complex in the Taita Hills of Kenya. Channing, Rödel, and Channing, 2012, Tadpoles of Africa: 305, provided information on comparative larval morphology. Dehling and Sinsch, 2013, Zool. Anz., 253: 143–157, reported on the morphology and molecular phylogenetics of this species compared with others found in Rwanda. Harper, Measey, Patrick, Menegon, and Vonesh, 2010, Field Guide Amph. E. Arc Mts. Tanzania and Kenya: 260–261, provided a brief account and photograph. Ohler and Frétey, 2014, J. E. Afr. Nat. Hist., 103: 95, 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 a populations from Mount M'pàluwé, Nampula Province, Mozambique. Ceríaco, Marques, and Bandeira, 2016, Anf. Rept. Parque Nac. Cangandala: 45, provided a brief account for Malanje Province, Angola. Marques, Ceríaco, Blackburn, and Bauer, 2018, Proc. California Acad. Sci., Ser. 4, 65 (Suppl. II): 129–130, provided a map for Angola and brief discussion of literature. Phaka, Netherlands, Kruger, and Du Preez, 2017, Bilingual Field Guide Frogs Zululand: 54, provided a photograph, Zululand regional map, and a brief account of life history and identification. See Bittencourt-Silva, 2019, Amph. Rept. Conserv., 13 (2: e181): 10, for comment on population in western Zambia. Spawls, Wasonga, and Drewes, 2019, Amph. Kenya: 38, provided a photograph, range map, and brief characterization. Channing and Rödel, 2019, Field Guide Frogs & Other Amph. Afr.: 344–345, provided a brief account, photograph, and range map. Ernst, Lautenschläger, Branquima, and Hölting, 2020, Zoosyst. Evol., 96: 255, noted the presence in Uigé Province, northwestern Angola. Kako-Wanzalire, Mongo, Ilonga, Mapoli, Mbumba, Neema, Tungaluna, Itoka, and Bogaert, 2021, Tropicultura, 39 (1: 1709): 1–19, briefly discussed habitat preference in northeastern Dem. Rep. Congo. Dehling, Mindje, and Sinsch, 2023, Salamandra, 59: 42–50, reported on the range in Rwanda, the morphological diagnosis, and call characteristics. Dehling and Sinsch, 2023, Diversity, 15 (512): 1–81, discussed the range, identification, natural history, advertisement call, and conservation status in Rwanda.      

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