Afrixalus fornasini

Afrixalus fornasini is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae and is native to Africa. Its common name is Fornasini's spiny reed frog[1] or the greater leaf-folding frog[2]

Afrixalus fornasini

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Hyperoliidae
Genus: Afrixalus
Species:
A. fornasini
Binomial name
Afrixalus fornasini
(Bianconi, 1849)

The specific epithet fornasini is in honour of Italian amateur naturalist Carlo Antonio Fornasini, who collected the type specimen.[3]

Distribution and habitat

It is found in Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, South Africa and possibly Swaziland. Its natural habitats are temperate forest, subtropical or tropical dry forest, dry savanna, moist savanna, temperate shrubland, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, temperate grassland, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, swamps, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, water storage areas, and ponds.

Conservation status

The species is threatened in some parts of its range by habitat loss, but in general it is not very rare, and in some places common.[4]

Evidence for natural selection
Further information: Coloration evidence for natural selection § Coincident disruptive coloration

The camouflage mechanism used by the species provided compelling[5] evidence for evolution by natural selection. The zoologist Hugh Cott's drawings and description of the frog's "coincident disruptive coloration" showed that its pattern, forming bold stripes on the legs and body, lined up (coincided) exactly when the legs were tightly folded into the body at rest, effectively disrupting its outline. The zoologists I. C. Cuthill and A. Székely noted that the way the configuration works indicates that it must have survival value, implying natural selection at work.[5]

  • Tadpole
  • Tadpole developing into a froglet
  • Tadpole/ froglet taken out of the water

Notes
  1. AmphibiaWeb
  2. Carruthers, V. (2001). First Field Guide to Frogs of Southern Africa. ISBN 978-1-86872-595-3.
  3. Bianconi, G. Giuseppe (26 April 1849). "Alcune nuove specie di rettili del Mozambico". Nuovi Annali delle Scienze Naturali. 2 (in Italian). Bologna. 10: 106.
  4. Pickersgill, M., Schiøtz, A. & Minter, L. 2004. Afrixalus fornasini. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 29 November 2010.
  5. Cuthill, I. C.; Székely, A. (2011). Stevens, Martin; Merilaita, Sami (eds.). Animal Camouflage: Mechanisms and Function. Cambridge University Press. p. 50. ISBN 978-1-139-49623-0.


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