''Conraua derooi'' 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

Conrauidae ''Conraua'', known as slippery frogs or giant frogs is a genus of large frogs from sub-Saharan Africa. ''Conraua'' is the only genus in the family Conrauidae. Alternatively, it may be placed in the family Petropedetidae. This genus includes the ...

. It is found in the Togo-Volta Highlands along the border of

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

and

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

, where it is possibly

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 ...

. The common name Togo slippery frog has been coined for this species. Previously feared to be extinct, a few populations were found in surveys between 2005 and 2007, after the species had gone unrecorded for more than 20 years.

Etymology

The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''derooi'' honours Antoon De Roo, a Belgian ornithologist who was part of the expedition that discovered the species.

Distribution

''Conraua derooi'' is found in southwestern

and adjacent southeastern

on the Togo-Volta Highlands, as well as in the Atewa Range in central Ghana. Records of '' Conraua alleni'' from eastern Ghana and Togo refer to this species. The type locality is (=Misahöhe) in western Togo.

Description

''Conraua derooi'' are large frogs (though much smaller than their relative, the goliath frog ''Conraua goliath''), with males measuring and females about in snout–vent length. The head is relatively large with prominent eyes and a fairly small snout. The tympanum is not visible externally. The hindlimbs are very long and robust. The toes are long and have distinct adhesive discs and webbing extending midway to the discs. The forelimbs are short but muscular with webbed fingers.

Habitat and conservation

''Conraua derooi'' lives in flowing water in forest habitats; they are permanently aquatic. The

tadpole A tadpole or polliwog (also spelled pollywog) is the Larva, larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully Aquatic animal, aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial animal, ...

s develop in streams. At the time of the latest assessment by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

(IUCN) in 2004, only one surviving population was believed to exist. However, surveys in 2005–2007 located a few populations in Ghana and Togo, after the species had gone unrecorded for more than 20 years. Nevertheless, the species is extremely threatened by habitat destruction and alteration, as well as by human consumption. Further, there is genetic differentiation between the Atewa and Volta populations. Populations within the Atewa Range Forest Reserve seem large and viable; these are probably the largest remaining populations.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2244954 derooi Frogs of Africa Amphibians of West Africa EDGE species Amphibians described in 1972 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot