''Probreviceps rungwensis'' 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

Brevicipitidae Brevicipitidae or rain frogs is a small Family (biology), family of frogs found in eastern and southern Africa. As of 2025 contains 38 species in 5 genera. eb application 2013. Berkeley, CaliforniaBrevicipitidae AmphibiaWeb, available at http ...

. 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 ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

and is known from the

Mahenge Mahenge is a town in the Mahenge Mountains of Tanzania. It is the headquarters of Ulanga District in Morogoro Region.There is a hospital, a market, and primary schools. History On 30th, August 1905, 16,000 Ngindo warriors capture Mahenge ...

and

Udzungwa Mountains The Udzungwa Mountains are a mountain range in south-central Tanzania. The mountains are mostly within Iringa Region, south of Tanzania's capital Dodoma. The Udzungwa Mountains are part of the Eastern Arc Mountains, and are home to a biodiverse ...

as well as the Southern Highlands, including the eponymic

Mount Rungwe Mount Rungwe is a volcanic mountain in Mbeya Region, in Tanzania's Southern Highlands, Tanzania, Southern Highlands. At an altitude of , it is southern Tanzania's second-highest peak. Rungwe's volcano is currently inactive. Geography Rungwe sta ...

, its type locality. It was first 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 '' Probreviceps macrodactylus'', but is now considered a full species. Furthermore, genetic data suggest that the nominal species includes more than one species.

Description

Adult males can grow to and adult 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 body is stout and the legs are short, reflecting its burrowing habits. The snout is pointed and protruding beyond the lower jaw. The tympanum is distinct and large, up to 1.5 times the eye diameter, but partly obscured by the supra-tympanic fold. The dorsum is brown and has no distinct markings. The flanks, arms, and legs are dark brown and bear white-tipped warts.

Habitat and conservation

''Probreviceps rungwensis'' lives in montane and submontane forests at elevations of about

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 semi-

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 ...

forest-floor species. The eggs are deposited in burrows in the leaf litter and hatch directly into small froglets. ''Probreviceps rungwensis'' is an uncommon species that is only known from few locations; the overall population appears fragmented. Although it tolerates mild habitat disturbance, it is likely to be suffering from the ongoing

forest loss Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then land conversion, converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or u ...

, primarily caused by subsistence small-scale agriculture and pole cutting and logging. However, it occurs in some protected areas that are considered comparatively well-managed.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1594545 rungwensis Frogs of Africa Amphibians of Tanzania Endemic fauna of Tanzania Taxa named by Arthur Loveridge Amphibians described in 1932 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot