''Cardioglossa cyaneospila'' 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

Arthroleptidae The Arthroleptidae are a family (biology), family of frogs found in sub-Saharan Africa. This group includes African treefrogs in the genus ''Leptopelis'' along with the terrestrial breeding squeakers ''Arthroleptis'', and several genera restrict ...

. 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 ...

to the

Albertine Rift The Albertine Rift is the western branch of the East African Rift, covering parts of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. It extends from the northern end of Lake Albert to the southern end of Lake Tan ...

area in eastern

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

, southwestern

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

, and southwestern

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

. It was described in 1950 by

Raymond Laurent Raymond Ferdinand Louis-Philippe Laurent (16 May 1917 – 3 February 2005) was a Belgian herpetologist, who specialized in African and South American amphibians and reptiles. He published more than 200 scientific articles and book chapters. Severa ...

based on specimens collected in 1949. No new records were published until 2011. Recent research has uncovered both old unpublished records and several new records, and the conservation status was changed from "data deficient" to "near threatened" in 2016. Common names Bururi long-fingered frog and Mukuzira long-fingered frog have been coined for this species.

Description

Two males from Bururi measure about in snout–vent length. The species is named for its unusual blueish gray color. It has dark spots in its dorsum, a dark mask surrounding the eye and tympanum, and an infratympanic line typical for the genus ''Cardioglossa''. Males have extremely long third fingers.

Habitat and conservation

''Cardioglossa cyaneospila'' occurs in

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

s 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 ...

, with one imprecise record from about . Specimens have been found active along trails during the day as well as active on the ground just before dusk, calling among low-lying vegetation some 1 metre above a stream. Montane forests in the range of this species are generally highly threatened by agricultural encroachment and logging. However, it occurs in several protected areas, including Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda,

Kahuzi-Biéga National Park The Kahuzi-Biega National Park (, ) is a protected area near Bukavu town in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is situated near the western bank of Lake Kivu and the Democratic Republic of the Congo–Rwanda border, Rwandan border. His ...

in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Bururi Nature Reserve in Burundi, and Gishwati Forest in Rwanda. It is also likely to occur in the

Virunga National Park Virunga National Park is a national park in the Albertine Rift Valley in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was created in 1925. In elevation, it ranges from in the Semliki River valley to in the Rwenzori Mountains. ...

, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2700607 cyaneospila Frogs of Africa Amphibians of Burundi Amphibians of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Amphibians of Rwanda Amphibians of Uganda Amphibians described in 1950 Taxa named by Raymond Laurent Taxonomy articles created by Polbot