Ptychadena oxyrhynchus (Smith, 1849)

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

Rana oxyrhynchus Smith, 1849, Illust. Zool. S. Afr., 3 (Part 28): pl. 77, fig 2. Syntypes: BMNH; BMNH lectotype designated by Guibé and Lamotte, 1961 "1960", Bull. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. Paris, Ser. 2, 32: 382. Type locality: "Kaffirland and the region of Port Natal [= Durban]", Rep. South Africa. BMNH specimens noted from Smith are from "Cape of Good Hope" and "Natal", according to Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 51.

Ixalus bistrigatus Werner, 1894, Zool. Anz., 17: 156. Holotype: Not stated; presumably originally in NHMW. Type locality: "Ostindien" [in error; by implication of the synonymy]. Synonymy by Werner, 1899, Zool. Anz., 22: 377. (Formerly placed in the synonymy of Phrynobatrachus plicatus by Boulenger, 1895, Zool. Rec., 31: 39.)

Phrynobatrachus hailiensis Meek, 1897, Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Publ., Zool. Ser., 1: 175. Syntypes: FMNH (2 specimens), by original designation. Type locality: given as "Haili" (= Haileh), Somalia, but elsewhere on the same page explained more accurately as "About 10 miles from our camping place at Haili, on our journey back to Berbera . . . . The place . . . was near a small spring, . . . . Haili is at the foot of the Gobis range, about 30 miles southeast of Berbera", Somalia. Synonymy by Loveridge, 1936, Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Publ., Zool. Ser., 22: 91; Guibé and Lamotte, 1957, Bull. Inst. Franç. Afr. Noire, Ser. A, 19: 966; Lanza, 1981, Monit. Zool. Ital., N.S., Suppl., 15: 165 (formerly considered a junior synonym of Ptychadena mascareniensis by Boulenger, 1898, Zool. Rec., 34: 30; Boulenger, 1898, Ann. Mus. Civ. Stor. Nat. Genova, Ser. 2, 18: 716). The type locality is far outside of the otherwise known range (DRF).

Rana (Ptychadena) oxyrhynchus — Procter, 1920, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1920: 412; De Witte, 1921, Rev. Zool. Afr., 9: 6; Chabanaud, 1921, Bull. Com. Études Hist. Scient. Afr. Occid. Franç., 1921: 451; Parker, 1936, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1936: 139; Pienaar, 1963, Koedoe, 6: 79; Dubois, 1981, Monit. Zool. Ital., N.S., Suppl., 15: 233; by implication.

Rana (Ptychadena) Gribinguiensis Angel, 1922, Bull. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. Paris, 28: 399. Syntypes: MNHNP, not currently (22 Aug. 2009) on MNHNP collection online database. Type locality: "Fort Crampel (Gribingui)", Lake Chad, French West Africa. Synonymy by Loveridge, 1938, Proc. New England Zool. Club, 17: 70; Poynton, 1964, Ann. Natal Mus., 17: 125.

Phrynobatrachus hailensis — Loveridge, 1936, Field Mus. Nat. Hist. Publ., Zool. Ser., 22: 91. Misspelling in synonymy.

Rana oxyrhynchus gribinguiensis — Loveridge, 1938, Proc. New England Zool. Club, 17: 70. Distinctiveness of subspecies from Ptychadena oxyrhynchus oxyrhynchus rejected by Poynton, 1964, Senckenb. Biol., 45; 195.

Ptychadena oxyrhynchus — Deckert, 1938, Sitzungsber. Ges. Naturforsch. Freunde Berlin, 1938: 147; Guibé and Lamotte, 1957, Bull. Inst. Franç. Afr. Noire, Ser. A, 19: 942; Guibé and Lamotte, 1961 "1960", Bull. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. Paris, Ser. 2, 32: 380; Dubois, 1987 "1986", Alytes, 5: 56; by implication.

Rana (Ptychadena) oxyrhynchus gribinguiensis — Guibé, 1950 "1948", Cat. Types Amph. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat.: 43. Distinctiveness from Rana oxyrhynchus oxyrhynchus rejected by Schmidt and Inger, 1959, Explor. Parc Natl. Upemba, Miss. G.F. de Witte, 56: 91, and questioned by Rödel, 2000, Herpetofauna W. Afr., 1: 118.

Rana (Ptychadena) oxyrhynchus oxyrhynchus — De Witte, 1952, Result. Sci., Explor. Hydrobiol. Lac Tanganyika (1946–47), 3: 6; Guibé and Lamotte, 1957, Bull. Inst. Franç. Afr. Noire, Ser. A, 19: 966.

Ptychadena oxyrhynchus gribinguiensis — Lamotte, 1958, Bull. Inst. Franç. Afr. Noire, Ser. A, 20: 1464.

Rana oxyrhyncha — Inger, 1968, Explor. Parc Natl. Garamba, Miss. H. de Saeger, 52: 72. Incorrect subsequent spelling.

Ptychadena (Ptychadena) oxyrhynchus — Dubois, 1992, Bull. Mens. Soc. Linn. Lyon, 61: 316.

Ptychadena oxirhynchus — Gavetti and Andreone, 1993, Cat. Mus. Reg. Sci. Nat., Torino, 10: 89. Spelling error.

Common Names

Sharp-nosed Frog (Hewitt, 1937, Guide Vert. Fauna E. Cape Province, Rept. Amph. Fishes: 100; Rose, 1962, Rep. Amph. S. Afr., Ed. 2: 45; Van Dijk, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 17: 15; Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 5).

Sharp-nosed Rana (Wager, 1965, Frogs S. Afr.: 154; Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 5; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 152).

Sharp-snouted Ridged Frog (Broadley, 1973, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 10: 23; Broadley, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 34).

Sharp-nosed Grass Frog (Pienaar, 1963, Koedoe, 6: 79; Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 5Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 152; Lambiris, 1990 "1989", Monogr. Mus. Reg. Sci. Nat. Torino, 10: 105; Minter and Passmore, 2004, in Minter et al. (eds.), Atlas Frogs S. Afr. Lesotho and Swaziland: 291; Du Preez and Carruthers, 2009, Compl. Guide Frogs S. Afr.: 316).

Ridged Frog (Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 152).

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

Sharp-nosed Ridged Frog (Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 5; Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 334-336; Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 309; Lötters, Wagner, Bwong, Schick, Malonza, Muchai, Wasonga, and Veith, 2007, Fieldguide Amph. Rept. Kakamega Forest: 22).

Sharp-nosed Rocket Frog (Barnett, Emms, and Santoni, 2001, Herpetol. Bull., London, 77: 8; Spawls, Mazuch, and Mohammad, 2023, Handb. Amph. Rept. NE Afr.: 102).

Distribution

Subsaharan Africa, circum-forest savanna from Senegal and Gambia to South Sudan, Kenya, and Tanzania to Rwanda, throughout Angola, northeastern Namibia, northern Botswana, south through Mozambique along the coast to the eastern part of the Eastern Cape Province (Rep. South Africa); expected in Burundi and Niger.

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of the, Congo, Republic of the, Eswatini, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Likely/Controversially Present: Burundi, Niger

Comment

See accounts by Schmidt and Inger, 1959, Explor. Parc Natl. Upemba, Miss. G.F. de Witte, 56: 91-95; Inger, 1968, Explor. Parc Natl. Garamba, Miss. H. de Saeger, 52: 72; Poynton, 1964, Ann. Natal Mus., 17: 124; and Poynton and Broadley, 1985, Ann. Natal Mus., 27: 144-145, and Rödel, 2000, Herpetofauna W. Afr., 1: 118-123, Minter and Passmore, 2004, in Minter et al. (eds.), Atlas Frogs S. Afr. Lesotho and Swaziland: 291-292, Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 309-311, Pickersgill, 2007, Frog Search: 137-139, Lötters, Wagner, Bwong, Schick, Malonza, Muchai, Wasonga, and Veith, 2007, Fieldguide Amph. Rept. Kakamega Forest: 22-23, and Du Preez and Carruthers, 2009, Compl. Guide Frogs S. Afr.: 316-317, provided accounts. Auerbach, 1987, Amph. Rept. Botswana: 48–49, provided a summary account and grid map for Botswana. Passmore, 1977, S. Afr. J. Sci., 73: 212–214, described the advertisement call. Not included in the Somalia herpetofauna by Lanza, 1990, Biogeographia, 14: 410. Barnett, Emms, and Santoni, 2001, Herpetol. Bull., London, 77: 8, provided a record from Gambia. Padial and De la Riva, 2004, Rev. Esp. Herpetol., 18: 96, suggested that this species will be found in southern Mauritania but Sánchez-Vialas, Calvo-Revuelta, and Márquez, 2017, ZooKeys, 673: 125–133, did not report it there. Schiøtz, 1963, Vidensk. Medd. Dansk Naturhist. Foren., 125: 23-24, provided records for Nigeria. Emms, Jambang, Bah, Mankali, Rödel, and Barnett, 2005, Herpetol. Bull., London, 94: 6-16, provided records for Gambia. Bwong, Chira, Schick, Veith, and Lötters, 2009, Salamandra, 45: 129-146, discussed the assignment of a population in western Kenya to this taxon and outstanding questions regarding the systematics of this species. Mercurio, 2011, Amph. Malawi: 261-265, provided an account for Malawi. See comments regarding specimen from Malundwe Mountain, Tanzania, by Lawson and Collett, 2011, Fieldiana, Life Earth Sci., 4: 77. Channing, Rödel, and Channing, 2012, Tadpoles of Africa: 309, provided information on comparative larval morphology. Channing, Rödel, and Channing, 2012, Tadpoles of Africa: 309, provided information on comparative larval morphology. Harper, Measey, Patrick, Menegon, and Vonesh, 2010, Field Guide Amph. E. Arc Mts. Tanzania and Kenya: 268–269, provided a brief account and photograph. Nagy, Chifundera, Collet, and Gvoždík, 2013, Herpetol. Notes, 6:  413–419, provided a record from Bas-Congo, southwestern Dem. Rep. Congo. Ohler and Frétey, 2014, J. E. Afr. Nat. Hist., 103: 99–100, provided a brief discussion of a collection from northern Mozambique. Ceríaco, Marques, and Bandeira, 2016, Anf. Rept. Parque Nac. Cangandala: 47, provided a brief account for Malanje Province, Angola. Du Preez and Carruthers, 2017, Frogs S. Afr., Compl. Guide: 338–339, provided an account, including a polygon range map for southern Africa, photograph, identification features, adult and larval morphology, habitat, and call. Marques, Ceríaco, Blackburn, and Bauer, 2018, Proc. California Acad. Sci., Ser. 4, 65 (Suppl. II): 136–137, provided a map for Angola and brief discussion of the literature. Phaka, Netherlands, Kruger, and Du Preez, 2017, Bilingual Field Guide Frogs Zululand: 57 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 from Huila Province, southwestern Angola. See Bittencourt-Silva, 2019, Amph. Rept. Conserv., 13 (2: e181): 12, for comment on population in western Zambia. Spawls, Wasonga, and Drewes, 2019, Amph. Kenya: 41, provided a photograph, range map, and brief characterization. Channing and Rödel, 2019, Field Guide Frogs & Other Amph. Afr.: 324–325, 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. Ernst, Lautenschläger, Branquima, and Hölting, 2020, Zoosyst. Evol., 96: 255, noted the presence in Uigé Province, northwestern Angola. Ayoro, Segniagbeto, Hema, Penner, Oueda, Dubois, Rödel, Kabré, and Ohler, 2020, Zoosystema, 42: 547–582, discussed records, identification, and habitat in Burkina Faso. Kanga, Kouamé, Zogbass, Gongomin, Agoh, Kouamé, Konan, Adepo-Gourène, Gourène, and Rödel, 2021, Amph. Rept. Conserv., 15: 71–107, commented on conservation status, identification, range, and habitat on the Ivory Coast side of Mont Nimba. 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. Conradie, Keates, Verburgt, Baptista, and Harvey, 2023, Amph. Rept. Conserv., 17: 45, provided an account and dot map of the species in Angola. Gansa, Agadjihouèdé, and Hounkanrin, 2023, Afr. Zool., 58: 39–56, reported the species from the lower Ouémé Valley, southeastern Benin, and briefly descried habitat preference. Segniagbeto, Ohler, Rödel, Luiselli, and Dubois, 2024, Zoosystema, 46: 658, provided a brief account for Togo, discussing habitat, distribution, conservation status, and identification. Spawls, Mazuch, and Mohammad, 2023, Handb. Amph. Rept. NE Afr.: 102, provided an account addressing identification, natural history, conservation status, and range, including a range map for South Sudan. 

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