''Leptodactylodon bueanus'' 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 ...

s 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 western

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

and known from the eastern slope of

Mount Cameroon Mount Cameroon is an active volcano in the Southwest Region of Cameroon next to the city of Buea near the Gulf of Guinea. Mount Cameroon is also known as Cameroon Mountain or Fako (the name of the higher of its two peaks) or by its indigenous ...

and from Bimbia Hill near Limbe. It was originally described as a

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 '' Leptodactylodon albiventris'' and is also similar to ''

Leptodactylodon stevarti ''Leptodactylodon stevarti'' is a species of frog in the family Arthroleptidae. It is known with certainty only from the area of its type locality, Monts de Cristal in northwestern Gabon. Only two specimens are known. However, there is an uncert ...

''.

Description

Adult males measure in snout–vent length. The dorsum is brown anteriorly and beige posteriorly. The thighs are brown. The venter is clear and the throat is blackish with white spots. Gular folds are present. Breeding males have three (but occasionally only 1–2)

metacarpal In human anatomy, the metacarpal bones or metacarpus, also known as the "palm bones", are the appendicular bones that form the intermediate part of the hand between the phalanges (fingers) and the carpal bones ( wrist bones), which articulate ...

spines.

Habitat and conservation

''Leptodactylodon bueanus'' occurs in and around streams and springs in forest 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 ...

, often sheltering in rocky areas. 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. ''Leptodactylodon bueanus'' is locally abundant and is typically found in degraded forest, but requires dense vegetation in order to survive. It is probably threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

caused by

smallholder A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technolo ...

farming activities, subsistence wood extraction, and human settlements. There are no records from protected areas.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q512120 bueanus Frogs of Africa Endemic fauna of Cameroon Amphibians of Cameroon Amphibians described in 1981 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot