''Xenopus boumbaensis'', the Mawa clawed frog, is a predominantly to fully aquatic 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

Pipidae The Pipidae are a family (biology), family of primitive, tongueless frogs. There are 41 species in the family, found in tropical South America (genus ''Pipa'') and sub-Saharan Africa (the three other genera). Description Pipid frogs are highly ...

, known from a few localities in central and southern

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 ...

, the northwestern

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

and the extreme southwest of the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...

. The species likely occurs more widely throughout the Central African forest region, but identification is difficult as it is a

cryptic species In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

, resembling ''

Xenopus fraseri Fraser's platanna (''Xenopus fraseri'') is a species of frogs in the family Pipidae found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and possibly Rwanda. Its ...

''; however, ''X.'' ''boumbaensis'' is distinguishable by

chromosome number Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Here ''sets of chromosomes'' refers to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, ...

( 2n=72) and the species' male advertisement call, consisting of a single note.

Etymology

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 ...

''boumbaensis'' refers to the type locality (Mawa) that is within the

Boumba River Boumba River is a river in the South Cameroon Plateau of southeast Cameroon. Geography The river rises in the Abong-Mbang region. The Boumba is almost 530 km long, and has a catchment of 27.400 km²

drainage.

Description

Adult males can grow to and females to in snout–vent length. All ''Xenopus'' are characterized by a streamlined and flattened body, a vocal organ specialized for underwater sound production, lateral-line organs, claws on the innermost three toes, and fully webbed toes. The coloration is green with numerous spots posteriorly and on the hind limbs. The venter can be immaculate white but is often heavily spotted. ''Xenopus boumbaensis'' is an

octoploid Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than two paired sets of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two complete sets of chromosomes, one fro ...

species ( 2n=72).

Habitat and conservation

This species occurs in aquatic habitats in the lowland rainforest region at elevations of

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 typically found in forested habitats in slow-flowing forest streams and springs, but may also be found in swamps. Reproduction presumably involves free-living larvae. It is threatened by deforestation and habitat degradation as well as water pollution. It is known from a number of protected areas: Boumba Bek,

Nki NKI can refer to: *Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research *Early name for Nash Metropolitan The Nash Metropolitan is an American automobile assembled in England and marketed from 1953 until 1962. It conforms to two classes of vehicle: ...

, and Lobeke National Parks in Cameroon,

Dzanga-Sangha Special Reserve The Dzanga-Sangha Special Reserve (also known as Dzanga-Sangha Forest Reserve, or Dzanga-Sangha Forest Special Reserve, Dzanga-Sangha Baï, or Dzanga-Sangha Special Forest Reserve) is a protected reserve of southwestern Central African Republic. I ...

in the Central African Republic, and the

Odzala-Kokoua National Park Odzala-Kokoua National Park (or Odzala National Park) is a national park in the Republic of the Congo. The park was first protected in 1935, declared a biosphere reserve in 1977, and granted official designation by presidential decree in 2001. Odz ...

in the Republic of Congo.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q606940 boumbaensis Frogs of Africa Amphibians of Cameroon Amphibians of the Central African Republic Amphibians of the Republic of the Congo Amphibians described in 1983 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot