''Hyperolius baumanni'' 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 known from the Akwapim-Togo Ranges along the border between

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 ...

and

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 from central Ghana. Common name Baumann's reed frog has been coined for this species.

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 ...

''baumanni'' honours Ernst Baumann, a German zoologist (1863–1895) who worked at the German research station in , Togo—the type locality of this species.

Description

''Hyperolius baumanni'' is a medium-sized member of its genus, with males measuring and females about in snout–vent length. The dorsum is almost uniformly brown and bears a broad, light dorso-lateral stripe. The

pupil The pupil is a hole located in the center of the iris of the eye that allows light to strike the retina.Cassin, B. and Solomon, S. (1990) ''Dictionary of Eye Terminology''. Gainesville, Florida: Triad Publishing Company. It appears black becau ...

is horizontal. Male advertisement call consists of a slow, coarse initial sound, followed by a long, accelerating series of clicks. ''Hyperolius baumanni'' is very similar to '' Hyperolius picturatus'', and is possibly an eastern

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of the latter. However, the two have differences in morphology (larger gular flap in ''H. baumanni'') and the advertisement call.

Habitat and conservation

''Hyperolius baumanni'' occurs in secondary forest, forest edge, and heavily degraded former forest (farm bush). Breeding is unknown but is assumed to involve attaching eggs to leaves above shallow, densely vegetated temporary ponds. The species is extremely abundant in its small range. No significant threats to this adaptable species are known. It occurs in the Kyabobo National Park in Ghana and in a number of smaller forest reserves. Given its presumed large population and adaptability, and despite its relatively small range, it is assessed as being of "

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1943042 baumanni Frogs of Africa Amphibians of West Africa Amphibians described in 1931 Taxa named by Ernst Ahl Taxonomy articles created by Polbot