Leptopelis rugosus (Ahl, 1924)

Class: Amphibia > Order: Anura > Family: Arthroleptidae > Subfamily: Leptopelinae > Genus: Leptopelis > Species: Leptopelis rugosus

Pseudocassina rugosa Ahl, 1924, Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berlin, 11: 9. Holotype: ZMB registration not provided, according to the original publication; ZMB 26915, according to Goutte, Reyes-Velasco, Kassie Teme, and Boissinot, 2022, ZooKeys, 1128: 76. Type locality: "Meta, Meta . . . Kolla, Zindelevat", Ethiopia. Given as "Meta, Kolla (approx. 9.17°, 38.25°, 2650 m a.s.l.)" by Goutte, Reyes-Velasco, Kassie Teme, and Boissinot, 2022, ZooKeys, 1128: 76.

Pseudocassina ocellata Ahl, 1924, Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berlin, 11: 8. Syntypes: ZMB (2 specimens), registration numbers not provided in the original publication' ZMB 26913 designated lectotype by Goutte, Reyes-Velasco, Kassie Teme, and Boissinot, 2022, ZooKeys, 1128: 76. Type localities: "Hochebene Didda" and "Somaliland". Actually in Ethiopia according to Tiutenko and Zinenko, 2021, ZooKeys, 1023: 143. Junior secondary homonym of Hylambates ocellatus Mocquard, 1902 (= Leptopelis ocellata), when both are in Leptopelis. Synonymy by  Goutte, Reyes-Velasco, Kassie Teme, and Boissinot, 2022, ZooKeys, 1128: 76.

Leptopelis rugosus — Ahl, 1931, Das Tierreich, 55: 222; Goutte, Reyes-Velasco, Kassie Teme, and Boissinot, 2022, ZooKeys, 1128: 76.

Leptopelis montanus Tiutenko and Zinenko, 2021, ZooKeys, 1023: 143. Replacement name for Pseudocassina ocellatus Ahl, 1924. 

English Names

Ocellated Burrowing Treefrog (Leptopelis montanus [no longer recognized]: Tiutenko and Zinenko, 2021, ZooKeys, 1023: 143). 

Distribution

Grassy meadows of the Ethiopian Highlands north of the Great Rift Valley at mid- to high elevations (2339–3337 m) from near Debre Birhan, Debre Sina, Fiche, Addis Ababa, Holeta and Ambo; northernmost population was found near Mehal Meda, while the southernmost individuals were found between Ambo and Wonchi; Arussi Plateau record, east of the Great Rift Valley requires confirmation. 

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: Ethiopia

Endemic: Ethiopia

Comment

Removed from the synonymy of Leptopelis gramineus, by Tiutenko and Zinenko, 2021, ZooKeys, 1023: 143, who provided information on external morphology, genetic markers, and advertisement call as well as mapping the range, where it had been placed by Largen, 1977, Monit. Zool. Ital., N.S., Suppl., 9: 86. Earlier synonymy with Leptopelis rugosus by Ahl, 1931, Das Tierreich, 55: 222. Pseudocassina rugosa Ahl was placed in the synonymy of Leptopelis gramineus by Largen, 1977, Monit. Zool. Ital., N.S., Suppl., 9: 86; resurrected by Goutte, Reyes-Velasco, Kassie Teme, and Boissinot, 2022, ZooKeys, 1128: 76, who recognized it as an older name for Leptopelis montanus. These authors also summarized the relevant literature, mtDNA relationships, and morphometrics. 

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