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

Amietia hymenopus (Boulenger, 1920)

Class: Amphibia > Order: Anura > Family: Pyxicephalidae > Subfamily: Cacosterninae > Genus: Amietia > Species: Amietia hymenopus

Rana hymenopus Boulenger, 1920, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Ser. 9, 6: 106. Holotype: BMNH, by original designation; reported as BMNH 1978.28 by Tarrant, Cunningham, and Du Preez, 2008, Zootaxa, 1962: 38; this rejected by Clarke and Poynton, 2012, Zootaxa, 3195: 51-56, who concluded that the holotype is BMNH 1947.2.28.65 (originally 1933.3.7.56 according to museum records). See comments and photograph of the holotype by Channing, 2015, Zootaxa, 3925: 271–280. Type locality: "South Africa".

Phrynobatrachus lawrencei FitzSimons, 1947, Ann. Natal Mus., 11: 119. Holotype: NMP 699, by original designation. Type locality: "Champagne Castle (7000 ft.), Drakensberg, Natal", Rep. South Africa. Synonymy by Poynton, 1964, Ann. Natal Mus., 17: 118. See comments and photograph of the holotype by Channing, 2015, Zootaxa, 3925: 271–280.

Rana draconensis FitzSimons, 1948, Spec. Publ. R. Soc. S. Afr.: 236. Holotype: NMP 734, by original designation. Type locality: "Mont-aux Sources Summit (10,000 feet), Drakensberg, Natal", Rep. South Africa. Synonymy by Poynton, 1964, Ann. Natal Mus., 17: 119. See comments and photograph of the holotype by Channing, 2015, Zootaxa, 3925: 271–280.

Strongylopus hymenopus — Van Dijk, 1966, Ann. Natal Mus., 18: 259; Channing, 1979, Ann. Natal Mus., 23: 797-831.

Rana (Stronglylopus) hymenopus — Dubois, 1981, Monit. Zool. Ital., N.S., Suppl., 15: 233, by implication; Dubois, 1987 "1986", Alytes, 5: 50.

Amietia hymenopus — Channing, 2015, Zootaxa, 3925: 271.

Common Names

Phofung River Frog (Tarrant, Cunningham, and Du Preez, 2008, Zootaxa, 1962: 45; Du Preez and Carruthers, 2009, Compl. Guide Frogs S. Afr.: 408;Channing, 2015, Zootaxa, 3925: 278; Channing, Dehling, Lötters, and Ernst, 2016, Zootaxa, 4155: 31).

Drakensberg Rana (Wager, 1965, Frogs S. Afr.: 154; Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 5; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 144).

Drakensberg Frog (Van Dijk, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 17: 15).

Berg Stream Frog (Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 5; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 144; Channing, 2004, in Minter et al. (eds.), Atlas Frogs S. Afr. Lesotho and Swaziland: 313-314).

Natal Drakensberg Frog (Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 107).

Drakensberg Stream Frog (Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 357).

Distribution

High elevations of northeastern Lesotho and immediately adjacent Rep. South Africa.

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: Lesotho, South Africa

Comment

See accounts (as Strongylopus hymenopus) by Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 357-359, and Channing, 2004, in Minter et al. (eds.), Atlas Frogs S. Afr. Lesotho and Swaziland: 313-314. See account (as Strongylopus hymenopus) by Lambiris, 1988, Lammergeyer, 39: 96-97, who suggested that this name may cover a cryptic and undescribed species whose tadpoles he described (pp. 101-102). Du Preez and Carruthers, 2009, Compl. Guide Frogs S. Afr.: 408-409, provided an account. Kruger, Weldon, and Du Preez, 2011, Afr. Zool., 46: 309-319, discussed the morphological disitinctiveness of this species and Amietia umbraculata. Channing, Rödel, and Channing, 2012, Tadpoles of Africa: 327–328, provided information on comparative larval morphology. Tarrant, Cunningham, and Du Preez, 2008, Zootaxa, 1962: 33-48, synonymised the type of Rana hymenopus with Amietia fuscigula, and assigned the Maluti River Frog to Amietia umbraculata and the Phofung River Frog to Amietia vertebralis. Du Preez and Carruthers, 2017, Frogs S. Afr., Compl. Guide: 366–367, provided an account, including a polygon range map for southern Africa, photograph, identification features, adult and larval morphology, habitat, and call. Channing, 2015, Zootaxa, 3925: 271–280, addressed a number of errors in the published record, examined the relevant types, and sorted through the difficult taxonomic history of this species and who noted that until 2008, the Maluti River frog was referred to Amietia vertebralis and the Phofung River Frog to Strongylopus hymenopus, an arrangement that by careful comparison of types. See account and revision by Channing, Dehling, Lötters, and Ernst, 2016, Zootaxa, 4155: 31–33. Channing and Rödel, 2019, Field Guide Frogs & Other Amph. Afr.: 354–355, provided a brief account, photograph, and range map.

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For information on distribution, habitat, and conservation see the Map of Life
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