''Phrynobatrachus tokba'' 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 found in

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

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 ...

westward to

Côte d'Ivoire 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 city and ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

, and

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in West Africa that covers with an estimated population of 2,026,778. It borders Senegal to Guinea-Bissau–Senegal border, its north and Guinea to Guinea–Guinea-Bissau b ...

. Common names Tokba river frog, Tokba puddle frog, and—when referring to the formerly recognized ''Phrynobatrachus alticola'', forest river frog—have been proposed for it.

Description

Males grow to and females to 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 fingers and toes lack terminal discs and interdigital webbing. The dorsum is smooth to slightly warty, with three pairs of scapular warts, sometimes fusing into ridges. Coloration is variable; the dorsum is brown with or without red or green stripes or bands, or it is green or copper-red. The venter is white and may have grey marbling. Males have a smooth, grey throat. The male advertisement call consists of one to few "krck"-sounds.

Habitat and conservation

''Phrynobatrachus tokba'' is primarily associated with degraded and open parts of primary forest, secondary forests with a broken canopy, and heavily degraded former forest (farm bush), but it can also occur in moist savanna and montane grassland during the rainy season. It occurs at elevations less than

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 ...

. It is a diurnal species found in leaf litter or grass tufts, sometimes sleeping on low vegetation at night. Development is direct (i.e., there is no free-living larval stage), and up to 25 eggs are deposited on the ground, with the larvae developing in a gelatinous mass. ''Phrynobatrachus tokba'' is a very common species. It is somewhat adaptable, but changes that lead to a near-complete opening of the landscape (

agricultural expansion Agricultural expansion describes the growth of agricultural land ( arable land, pastures, etc.) especially in the 20th and 21st centuries. The agricultural expansion is often explained as a direct consequence of the global increase in food and e ...

, logging, and human settlements) are a threat to it. It is probably present in many protected areas.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2245548 tokba Frogs of Africa Amphibians of West Africa Fauna of Ghana Fauna of Guinea Fauna of Guinea-Bissau Fauna of Ivory Coast Fauna of Liberia Fauna of Sierra Leone Taxa named by Paul Chabanaud Amphibians described in 1921 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot