The savannah forest tree frog or ground tree frog (''Leptopelis bufonides'') 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 occurs in

West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

and

Middle Africa Central Africa ( French: ''Afrique centrale''; Spanish: ''África central''; Portuguese: ''África Central'') is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Middle Africa is an anal ...

. The relationship of this species with '' Leptopelis bocagei'' is not fully settled.

Distribution

''Leptopelis bufonides'' is known from

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

, the

Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

, northern

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 ...

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 ...

, northern

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

, northern

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, northern

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 southern

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

. Its range may extend to several other African countries (e.g., Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Ivory Coast and Niger), although specimens have not been confirmed elsewhere.

Description

''Leptopelis bufonides'' is a small, toad-like frog, with males measuring and females in snout–vent length. The dorsum is brown and shows a darker, backward-pointing, triangle-like pattern on the head, and an 'n' shaped pattern combined with a few mid-dorsal spots. Skin is warty. The legs are short, and the toes have only rudiments of webbing. The male advertisement call is a "clack" that is deeper and more atonal than the calls of other West African ''Leptopelis''.

Habitat and conservation

This species lives in dry open savanna and grassland. It is probably

fossorial A fossorial animal () is one that is adapted to digging and which lives primarily (but not solely) underground. Examples of fossorial vertebrates are Mole (animal), moles, badgers, naked mole-rats, meerkats, armadillos, wombats, and mole salamand ...

, spending large parts of the year underground. Reproduction takes place in flooded meadows. Males call from the ground, concealed in low grass or shallow water. The eggs are laid in a burrow in loamy soil. ''Leptopelis bufonides'' appears to be a very uncommon species that is known only from few records across its vast mapped range. It is not known to what degree this is because of the paucity of herpetological surveys in the area, its secretive habits, or genuinely patchy distribution. It is unlikely to face any major threats.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1947223 Bufonides Frogs of Africa Amphibians of Cameroon Vertebrates of Chad Amphibians of West Africa Amphibians described in 1967 Taxa named by Arne Schiøtz Taxonomy articles created by Polbot