''Leptopelis oryi'', also known as the Garamba forest treefrog and Ory's tree frog, 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 found in the northeastern

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 ...

, northwestern

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 ...

, and adjacent

South Sudan South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...

. It is morphologically similar to ''

Leptopelis nordequatorialis ''Leptopelis nordequatorialis'', also known as the West Cameroon forest treefrog, is a species of frog in the family Arthroleptidae. It is found in central and western Cameroon ( Bamileke Plateau, Bamenda Highlands, and Adamawa Plateau) and easte ...

'' from Cameroon, and has also been considered its

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

, but is currently treated as a distinct species. 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 ...

''oryi'' honours Albert Ory, warden in the

Garamba National Park Garamba National Park () is a national park in the north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo covering nearly . It is among Africa's oldest parks and was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980 for its protection of critical habit ...

, the type locality of this species.

Description

Adult males measure and adult females in

snout–vent length Snout–vent length (SVL) is a morphometric measurement taken in herpetology from the tip of the snout to the most posterior opening of the cloacal slit (vent)."direct line distance from tip of snout to posterior margin of vent" It is the mos ...

. The overall appearance is stout. The head is as wide as the body or narrower. The snout is rounded. The tympanum is distinct. The tips of the digits are dilated into distinct discs. The fingers have no webbing whereas the toes have reduced webbing. Males do not have pectoral glands (present in ''L. nordequatorialis''). The dorsum is pale brown with three narrow darker dorsal and one dark lateral stripe. Males have pale

vocal sac The vocal sac is the flexible Biological membrane, membrane of skin possessed by most male frogs and toads. The purpose of the vocal sac is usually as an amplification of their mating or advertisement call. The presence or development of the voca ...

. The eyes are golden brown. The male advertisement call is a single, loud, low-pitched clack.

Habitat and conservation

''Leptopelis oryi'' occurs in dense, humid

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

with tall grass and scattered bushes. In the dry season, these frogs are found buried in soil and under rocks, while during the wet season, males can be found perched high up in grass or on branches. They presumably lay eggs in a nest on the ground near water. ''Leptopelis oryi'' is a poorly known species known from few collections, but it appears to be reasonably abundant where it has been encountered. It is present in the

(Democratic Republic of Congo). There is no information on specific threats to this species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q943981 oryi Frogs of Africa Amphibians of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Amphibians of Uganda Vertebrates of South Sudan Amphibians described in 1968 Taxa named by Robert F. Inger Taxonomy articles created by Polbot