''Phrynobatrachus phyllophilus'' 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

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 found in

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

, southern

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

, and

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

. Prior to its

description Description is any type of communication that aims to make vivid a place, object, person, group, or other physical entity. It is one of four rhetorical modes (also known as ''modes of discourse''), along with exposition, argumentation, and narr ...

in 2002, it was confused with '' Phrynobatrachus guineensis'', one of its closest relatives. 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 ...

''phyllophilus'' is derived from the Greek ''phyllon'' for leaves and ''philein'' for loving. It refers to on the close association of this species with leaf litter.

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 snout is moderately pointed. The tympanum is small but distinct. The digits are enlarged to discs. The fingers are unwebbed but the toes are moderately webbed. Roughness of the skin changes within individuals; skin is normally smooth in reproductive males. The dorsal colouration ranges from beige to dark brown. There are black lateral bands. Flanks have sometimes clear spots on flanks, ranging from white, yellow, yellow with a red central part, or red with a fine orange border in colour. There might be a broad orange to red transverse band may cross the back. There is one (occasionally two even three) dark transverse bar on femur and tibia. The belly is white. Throat is black in reproductive males but can be almost white with few blacks spots in non-reproductive males. Females have white to gray throats with irregular dark spots and patches. The male advertisement call is a series of different brief "clicks" with a metallic quality. 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 are uniformly brown with hyaline fin carrying few small dots. The largest tadpoles (ready to metamorphose) measure in total length, including a 5 mm body. Metamorphosed froglets measure about in snout–vent length.

Habitat and ecology

''Phrynobatrachus phyllophilus'' occur in swampy parts of primary rainforest at elevations up to

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 ...

, possibly higher. They live in leaf litter. The eggs are deposited terrestrially close to water, the only ''Phrynobatrachus'' known to do so. The

s develop in extremely small puddles. The diet consists mostly of insects, particularly

coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...

ns.

Conservation

''Phrynobatrachus phyllophilus'' is a very common species. It is negatively impacted 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 agricultural development, logging, and expanding human settlements. It might also be locally threatened by mining activities. It occurs in several protected areas, including the

Taï National Park Taï National Park () is a national park in Ivory Coast that contains one of the last areas of primary rainforest in West Africa. It was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1982 due to the diversity of its flora and fauna. Five mammal species ...

(where its type locality is),

Mont Péko National Park Mont Péko National Park is a national park in Ivory Coast. It was established in 1968. Geography There are two mountains in Mont Peco National Park. The highest and most prominent is Mont Péko at 997 m. Environment Forest covers 80% of t ...

, and Mount Nimba World Heritage Site.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2244518 phyllophilus Amphibians of West Africa Frogs of Africa Amphibians described in 2002 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot