Southern torrent frog
| Southern torrent frog | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Petropedetidae |
| Genus: | Arthroleptides |
| Species: | A. yakusini
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| Binomial name | |
| Arthroleptides yakusini Channing, Howell, and Moyer, 2002
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| Synonyms | |
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The southern torrent frog (Arthroleptides yakusini) is a species of frog in the family Petropedetidae endemic to Tanzania, where it is found in the Uluguru, Udzungwa, and Mahenge Mountains.[2] Frogs from the Nguru Mountains may represent an unnamed species.[3]
A. yakusini is associated with rocky streams in montane forests. It appears to tolerate some degradation of the forest. Eggs are laid on rocks over which water is trickling, close to torrential streams and waterfalls. The larvae remain attached to the rocks, developing out of water.[1]
Taxonomy
[edit]Prior to 2002, it was thought that all Tanzanian frogs belonging to the genus Arthroleptides were part of a single species, the Usambara torrent frog (A. martiensseni). However, a study was published that year based on fieldwork conducted from 1999 to 2001 which found that individuals from the Udzungwa and Uluguru mountains were consistently distinguishable from those found in the Usambara Mountains further north (where the type specimen of the Usambara torrent frog was collected). Therefore, the southern form was described as a new species and given the scientific name Arthroleptides yakusini, with the specific name being derived from the Swahili words "ya kusini", meaning "of the south" and referencing how this species occurs south of the range of the Usambara torrent frog. The holotype specimen is an adult male collected along the Njokomoni River in Udzungwa Mountains National Park on 8 December 1995, and three other individuals collected at the same site and time were designated as paratypes.[4]
A paper published in 2005 concluded that the genus Arthroleptides is a junior synonym of Petropedetes, and therefore this species was renamed as Petropedetes yakusini.[5] However, a 2014 study resurrected the former genus as a valid taxon, thus reinstating the original scientific name of the species. The following cladogram shows the position of the southern torrent frog among its closest relatives according to said study:[6]
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Distribution and habitat
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This species is endemic to Tanzania, where it occurs in mountain ranges from 300–2,800 m (984.3–9,186.4 ft) above sea level.[4] It was first discovered in the Uluguru and Udzungwa mountain ranges, and in 2004 it was reported to occur in the Mahenge Mountains as well.[7] Though sometimes claimed to also be found in the Nguru Mountains,[1] molecular evidence suggests this population actually represents a separate, currently unnamed species within the same genus.[8] The southern torrent frog mostly inhabits rocky streams surrounded by montane forest, with a preference for mature forest (though it may tolerate open woodland habitats more than the related Usambara torrent frog), and has an estimated extent of occurrence of 3,113.18 km2 (1,202.0 sq mi).[1] It can also occur further from these streams, with adults sometimes being found some distance away from water on the forest floor.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2013). "Arthroleptides yakusini". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T58065A17195247. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-2.RLTS.T58065A17195247.en. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
- ^ Frost, Darrel R. (2014). "Arthroleptides yakusini Channing, Moyer, and Howell, 2002". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
- ^ Frost, Darrel R. (2014). "Arthroleptides Nieden, 1911 "1910"". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
- ^ a b c Channing, Alan; Moyer, David; Howell, Kim (January 2002). "Description of a new torrent frog in the genus Arthroleptides from Tanzania (Amphibia, Anura, Ranidae)". Alytes. 20 (1): 13–27.
- ^ Scott, Elizabeth (2005-12-20). "A phylogeny of ranid frogs (Anura: Ranoidea: Ranidae), based on a simultaneous analysis of morphological and molecular data". Cladistics. 21 (6): 507–574. doi:10.1111/j.1096-0031.2005.00079.x. ISSN 0748-3007.
- ^ Barej, Michael F.; Rödel, Mark-Oliver; Loader, Simon P.; Menegon, Michele; Gonwouo, Nono L.; Penner, Johannes; Gvoždík, Václav; Günther, Rainer; Bell, Rayna C.; Nagel, Peter; Schmitz, Andreas (2014-02-01). "Light shines through the spindrift – Phylogeny of African torrent frogs (Amphibia, Anura, Petropedetidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 71: 261–273. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2013.11.001.
- ^ Loader, Simon P.; Poynton, John C.; Mariaux, Jean (April 2004). "Herpetofauna of Mahenge Mountain, Tanzania: a window on African biogeography". African Zoology. 39 (1): 71–76.
- ^ Loader, Simon P.; Ceccarelli, F. Sara; Wilkinson, Mark; Menegon, Michele; Mariaux, Jean; de Sá, Rafael O.; Howell, Kim M.; Gower, David J. (2013-04-01). "Species boundaries and biogeography of East African torrent frogs of the genus Petropedetes (Amphibia: Anura: Petropeditidae)". African Journal of Herpetology. 62 (1): 40–48. doi:10.1080/21564574.2013.781549. ISSN 2156-4574.