Afrixalus uluguruensis

Afrixalus uluguruensis is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae. Its common name is Uluguru banana frog.[2][4] It is endemic to the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania[5] and known from the Kipengere Range (Livingstone Mountains), Mahenge, Udzungwa Scarp, Rubeho, North Uluguru, Nguru, Ukaguru, and Nguu Mountains.[1]

Afrixalus uluguruensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Hyperoliidae
Genus: Afrixalus
Species:
A. uluguruensis
Binomial name
Afrixalus uluguruensis
(Barbour and Loveridge, 1928)[2]
Synonyms

Megalixalus uluguruensis Barbour and Loveridge, 1928[3]

Etymology

The specific name uluguruensis refers to the type locality of this species, Vituri in the Uluguru Mountains.[2][3]

Description

Males measure 23–25.5 mm (0.91–1.00 in) and females 24–28 mm (0.94–1.10 in) in snout–vent length. The head is broad. The dorsal surfaces are white and have irregular darker spots that rarely form a pattern. Males have fine dorsal spines whereas females are smooth. The males have many small, inconspicuous asperities on the head, dorsum, and limbs.[5] The fingers are about one-third webbed whereas the toes fully webbed.[3]

Habitat and conservation

Its natural habitats are tropical forests at elevations of 600–2,200 m (2,000–7,200 ft) above sea level. Breeding takes place in slow-flowing streams, swampy valley bottoms, and temporary pools in closed-canopy forest.[1] The type series was collected from wild bananas in a rainforest. The diet consists of insects such as beetles.[3]

This species is abundant where it occurs. However, it does not survive in degraded habitats and is threatened by habitat loss caused by agricultural encroachment, logging, and expanding human settlements. It occurs in a number of protected areas: Uluguru Nature Reserve, Udzungwa Mountains National Park, and the proposed Mkingu and Uzungwa Scarp Nature Reserves.[1]

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References
  1. IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2016). "Afrixalus uluguruensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T56081A16951026. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T56081A16951026.en.
  2. Frost, Darrel R. (2016). "Afrixalus uluguruensis (Barbour and Loveridge, 1928)". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  3. Barbour, T.; Loveridge, A. (1928). "A comparative study of the herpetological faunae of the Uluguru and Usambara Mountains, Tanganyika Territory with descriptions of new species". Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 50: 87–265. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.49344.
  4. Afrixalus uluguruensis media from ARKive
  5. "Afrixalus uluguruensis". AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. [web application]. Berkeley, California: AmphibiaWeb. 2008. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
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