''Hyperolius nasutus'' 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 ...

. Common names include long-nosed reed frog, sharp-nosed reed frog and long reed frog. It is known from northern

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

and northern

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

(

Okavango Delta The Okavango Delta or Okavango Grassland is a vast inland delta in Botswana formed where the Okavango River reaches a tectonic trough at an elevation of in the central part of the endorheic basin of the Kalahari Desert. It is a UNESCO Wor ...

), but it presumably occurs more widely (including the intervening

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

). The nominal ''Hyperolius nasutus'' was partitioned in 2013 into three

cryptic species In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

, the other two being '' Hyperolius viridis'' and '' Hyperolius microps'' (formerly ''Hyperolius acuticeps''). All these species are members of the so-called ''Hyperolius nasutus'' species group, the "long reed frogs".

Description

A "representative" adult male measures in snout–urostyle length. The snout is rounded. There is no externally visible tympanum. The body is long and slender. The limbs are slender. The fingers and toes are webbed and broad, rounded discs (smaller on the toes). The dorsum is light green with more or less translucent skin. The limbs are green and sides of the snout and area above eyes are reddish brown. The back is covered small and large dark spots. A moderately broad dorso-lateral stripe runs along each side of the body. The

iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (given name), a feminine given name, and a list of peopl ...

is reddish brown. Males have single median

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 ...

that is pale yellow in colour and triangular in shape. The male advertisement call is a "buzz" of eight pulses and has a duration of 0.1 seconds.

Habitat and conservation

''Hyperolius nasutus'' is found at the margins of swamps, rivers, and lakes in

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 ...

and grassland habitats. It is associated with emergent vegetation and

sedge The Cyperaceae () are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as wikt:sedge, sedges. The family (biology), family is large; botanists have species description, described some 5,500 known species in about 90 ...

s. It can also be found near human settlements. It is a common species and no significantly threats to it are known. Furthermore, it occurs in some protected areas.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1309882 nasutus Frogs of Africa Amphibians of Angola Amphibians of Botswana Amphibians described in 1865 Taxa named by Albert Günther Taxonomy articles created by Polbot