''Phrynobatrachus francisci'' 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

Phrynobatrachidae ''Phrynobatrachus'' is a genus of Sub-Saharan frogs that form the monogeneric family Phrynobatrachidae. Their common name is puddle frogs, dwarf puddle frogs, African puddle frogs, or African river frogs. The common name, puddle frog, refers to ...

. It is widespread in the Guinean savanna zone of

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

, from Senegal and southern Mauritania in the west to Nigeria in the east. 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 ...

''francisci'' honours A. C. Francis, a colonial administrator in Nigeria and the collector of the

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

. Common names Francis's puddle frog and warty river frog has been proposed for it.

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 body is stocky. The snout is short and pointed. The tympanum is reduced but the supratympanic fold is distinct. The toes have some webbing. The dorsum has very prominent warts whereas the flanks have small glandular warts. The dorsal colouration is brown, with some specimens having dark, light, irregularly shaped spots. The dorsal parts of the limbs have dark and light transverse bars; the back of the thigh has light brown longitudinal bands. The throat, chest, belly, and underside of the thigh are whitish; some females and juveniles have brown spots in their throat. Males have a subgular

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 ...

and are darker than females.

Habitat and ecology

''Phrynobatrachus francisci'' is a very common species that inhabits both humid and dry

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 ...

. It also lives in altered habitats including agricultural areas and villages. Breeding takes place in a range of temporary water habitats, including small temporary ponds and puddles and ditches. ''Phrynobatrachus francisci'' are parasitized by intradermal larvae of the chigger mite ''Endotrombicula pillersi'' (family

Trombiculidae Trombiculidae (), commonly referred to in North America as chiggers and in Britain as harvest mites, but also known as berry bugs, bush-mites, red bugs or scrub-itch mites, are a family of mites. Chiggers are often confused with jiggers – a ...

). In the

Comoé National Park The Comoé National Park () is a Man and the Biosphere Programme, Biosphere Reserve and UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Zanzan District, Zanzan and Savanes District, Savanes districts of north-eastern Ivory Coast. It is the largest protected a ...

(Ivory Coast), more than half of the ''Phrynobatrachus francisci'' individuals were infected, whereas other amphibians were not infected – except for a single ''

Sclerophrys maculata ''Sclerophrys maculata'' — commonly known as Hallowell's toad, the flat-backed toad, and the striped toad — is an African member of Bufonidae, the true toad family. Habitat Natural habitats of ''S. maculata'' include subtropical or tropical ...

''. Only the most heavily infested frogs showed pathological effects of mites.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q954736 francisci Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Frogs of Africa Amphibians of West Africa Amphibians described in 1912 Taxa named by George Albert Boulenger