Ptychadena nilotica (Seetzen, 1855)

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

Rana nilotica Seetzen, 1855, Reisen Syrien, 3: 490. Syntypes: 3 specimens, presumably deposted in ZMB. Type locality: "Kahira", (= Cairo), Egypt. 

Ptychadena nilotica — Dehling and Sinsch, 2013, Zool. Anz., 253: xxx. 

Rana venusta Werner, 1908 "1907", Sitzungsber. Akad. Wiss. Wien, Phys. Math. Naturwiss. Kl., 116: 1892. Syntypes: NHMW (3 specimens), by original designation; NHMW 12235 considered holotype by Häupl, Tiedemann, and Grillitsch, 1994, Kat. Wiss. Samml. Naturhist. Mus. Wien, 9: 33. Type localities: "im Sudan ausschliesslich bei Mongolla", Sudan (3 specimens). Synonymy with Ptychadena mascareniensis by Loveridge, 1936, Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Publ., Zool. Ser., 22: 94; Guibé and Lamotte, 1957, Bull. Inst. Franç. Afr. Noire, Ser. A, 19: 979. Provisional synonymy on the basis of geography (DRF). 

Rana mascareniensis venusta — Loveridge, 1933, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 74: 370; Loveridge, 1936, Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Publ., Zool. Ser., 22: 94; Mertens, 1938, Senckenb. Biol., 20: 425. See comment.

Ptychadena filwoha Largen, 1997, Tropical Zool., 10: 234. Holotype: BMNH 1974.2842, by original designation. Type locality: "Filwoha, Awash National Park, Shoa, Ethiopia (09° 00′ N 39° 58′ E, altitude 800 m)". Provisional synonymy by Zimkus, Lawson, Barej, Barratt, Channing, Dash, Dehling, Du Preez, Gehring, Greenbaum, Gvoždík, Harvey, Kielgast, Chifundera, Nagy, Pabijan, Penner, Rödel, Vences, and Lötters, 2016, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 106: 265. 

Common Names

Hot Springs Grass Frog (Ptychadena filwoha [no longer recognized]: Largen and Spawls, 2010, Amph. Rept. Ethiopia Eritrea: 176).

Nile Grass Frog (Channing and Rödel, 2019, Field Guide Frogs & Other Amph. Afr.: 340). 

Nile Rocket Frog (Spawls, Mazuch, and Mohammad, 2023, Handb. Amph. Rept. NE Afr.: 101).

Distribution

Rift Valley of Ethiopia; western Eritrea; Nile drainage of Egypt and Sudan and South Sudan into Ethiopia, thence south into eastern Dem. Rep. Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, western and southern Kenya and Tanzania, northern Botswana, Mozambique, Eswatini, and extreme eastern Rep. South Africa; presumably in northern Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: Botswana, Burundi, Congo, Democratic Republic of the, Egypt, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda

Likely/Controversially Present: Zambia, Zimbabwe

Comment

 Dehling and Sinsch, 2013, Zool. Anz., 253: 143–157, described and discussed vocalizations, external morphology (comparing Ptychadena anchietae, Ptychadena nilotica, and Ptychodena porosissima), molecular markers, and resurrected Ptychadena nilotica from the synonymy of Ptychadena mascareniensis, where it had been placed by by Peters, 1869, Reisen Ost-Afr. 1859–1865, 3: 17 (with Rana bibroni); Boulenger, 1879, Bull. Soc. Zool. France, 4: 92–94;Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 52; and Guibé and Lamotte, 1957, Bull. Inst. Franç. Afr. Noire, Ser. A, 19: 978. Formerly noted as Ptychadena cf mascareniensis (Clade A) of Vences, Kosuch, Rödel, Channing, Glaw, and Böhme, 2004, J. Biogeograph., 31: 593–601, who noted another unnamed species in Kenya which they labeled as Ptychadena cf mascareniensis (Clade D). Kirchhof, Wasonga, Mazuch, Spawls, and Malonza, 2023, Amph. Rept. Conserv., 17 (e324): 4, reported the species from Sibiloi National Park in northern Kenya. Zimkus, Lawson, Barej, Barratt, Channing, Dash, Dehling, Du Preez, Gehring, Greenbaum, Gvoždík, Harvey, Kielgast, Chifundera, Nagy, Pabijan, Penner, Rödel, Vences, and Lötters, 2016, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 106: 254–269, recognized this species as a member of the Ptychadena mascareniensis complex and reported on molecular systematics and range, and provided a dot map of genetically-confirmed records. Largen and Spawls, 2010, Amph. Rept. Ethiopia Eritrea: 176, provided a brief account for Ptychadena filwoha, and Largen, 2001, Tropical Zool., 14: 337, commented on the range of Ptychadena filwoha. Du Preez and Carruthers, 2017, Frogs S. Afr., Compl. Guide: 336–337, 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: 56, provided a photograph, Zululand regional map, and a brief account of life history and identification. See detailed account for Egypt by Escoriza and Ben Hassine, 2019, Amph. N. Afr.: 266–269. Spawls, Wasonga, and Drewes, 2019, Amph. Kenya: 40, provided a photograph, range map, and brief characterization. Channing and Rödel, 2019, Field Guide Frogs & Other Amph. Afr.: 340–341, provided a brief account, photograph, and range map. 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. Behangana, Byaruhanga, Magala, Katumba, Kagurusi, Dendi, and Luiselli, 2023, Wetlands, 43(88): 1–13, reported on presence in the wetlands of southwestern Uganda. Spawls, Mazuch, and Mohammad, 2023, Handb. Amph. Rept. NE Afr.: 101–102, provided an account addressing identification, natural history, conservation status, and range, including a dot map for northeastern Africa. In the Ptychadena mascarenensis group of Nečas, Mazuch, Czurda, Elmi, Rödel, and Gvoždík, 2025, Afr. J. Herpetol., 73: 236–260. 

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