''Afrixalus lacteus'' is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

in the family

Hyperoliidae The Hyperoliidae, or sedge frogs and bush frogs, are a large family of small to medium-sized, brightly colored frogs which contain more than 250 species in 19 genera. Seventeen genera are native to sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, the monotypic g ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

and known from a few mountains in the western part of the country; specifically, it has been recorded from Mount Manengouba (its type locality), Mount Nlonaka, and the southern Bamileke Highlands (Mount Bana, Foto, and Batie). Common name Cameroon banana frog has been coined for it. Prior to its

description Description is any type of communication that aims to make vivid a place, object, person, group, or other physical entity. It is one of four rhetorical modes (also known as ''modes of discourse''), along with exposition, argumentation, and narr ...

, it was confused with '' Afrixalus lindholmi''.

Description

Adult males measure and adult females in snout–vent length. The overall appearance is stocky. The fingers are about one-third webbed and the toes are half webbed; both finger and toe tips bear large discs. The colouration varies by the time of the day: during the daytime, the dorsum is almost completely milky white, with few brown chromatophores, whereas at night, there are numerous brown chromatophores and the dorsum may be completely brown. The

canthus rostralis In snakes and amphibians, the canthus, canthal ridge or ''canthus rostralis''Spawls S, Branch B. 1995. ''The Dangerous Snakes of Africa''. Ralph Curtis Books. Dubai: Oriental Press. 192 pp. . is the angle between the flat crown of the head and the ...

is always brown. The thighs, hands, and feet are lemon yellow. The male advertisement call is a rather quiet, high-pitched buzzing.

Habitat and conservation

''Afrixalus lacteus'' is found in montane forests (including secondary forest and forest edges) and in

Raffia palm Raffia palms are members of the genus ''Raphia''. The Malagasy name is derived from ' "to squeeze juice". The genus contains about twenty species of palms native to tropical regions of Africa, and especially Madagascar, with one species ('' R ...

swamps at elevations of

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

. Males call from the canopy of trees close to streams where breeding takes place. ''Afrixalus lacteus'' is an uncommon species known from only few localities. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

and fragmentation associated with agricultural encroachment and collection of wood. On Mount Manengouba a specific threat is deforestation caused by unsustainable harvesting of ''

Prunus africana ''Prunus africana'', the African cherry, has a wide distribution in Africa, occurring in montane regions of central and southern Africa and on the islands of Bioko, São-Tomé, Grande Comore, and Madagascar. It can be found at above sea level. I ...

''. ''Afrixalus lacteus'' is not known from any protected area.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1945283 lacteus Frogs of Africa Amphibians of Cameroon Endemic fauna of Cameroon Amphibians described in 1976 Taxa named by Jean-Luc Perret Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Fauna of the Cameroonian Highlands forests