Description
A small bushland Hyperolius (males 18–25 mm, females 23–28 mm) from West Africa and western Cameroun. Phase F with a green dorsum, phase J light green with conspicuous light dorsolateral stripes and often with a dark vertebral line. Pupil horizontal.

This species can be split up into three, possibly four distinct subspecies. They are regarded as subspecies in the classical sense since they are allopatric, vicariate for each other in identical habitats, have very similar voices and identical juvenile phases.

1. Hyperolius f. fusciventris. Characterised by a Phase F with ventrum dusky grey, sometimes almost white, sometimes almost black. The ventral colour is normally delimited from the flanks by an irregular black line.
Western W. Africa from Sierra Leone to westernmost Côte d’Ivoire.

2. Hyperolius f. lamtoensis Schiøtz 1965. – Characterised by phase F having a white ventrum with red marbling. No black pigmentation. The red marbling disappears after preservation.
Côte d’Ivoire.

3. Hyperolius f. burtoni (Boulenger 1883). – Characterised by phase F having a white ventrum with irregular black spots and streaks. Red and yellow markings on limbs and feet.
From Ghana to Nigeria.

4. Hyperolius f. ssp. In Cameroun a distinct form of H. fusciventris, somewhat similar to the remote H. f. lamtoensis, occurs. Phase F has flanks with red and white vermiculations. Ventrum uniform red to red with whitish central region. Red vermiculation on throat. This form seems to represent a distinct, unnamed subspecies.

The tadpole has the usual tooth formula of 1/1+1,2 or 1/3.

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Benin, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone

	View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.
	View Bd and Bsal data (10 records).

A typical and abundant member of the bushland community throughout the forest belt of West Africa and western Cameroun, where the different subspecies vicariate for each other.

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
The call consists of two parts, an initial sound – a creak made up of a large number of figures with an indistinct frequency-intensity maximum – and a small number of clicks in rapid succession with a better defined frequency-intensity maximum. There may be a difference between the voices of H. f. fusciventris and H. f. burtoni, the latter being slower and higher pitched.

The eggs are quite heavily pigmented, with a dark and a light pole. Jelly clear. They are placed above water.

Comments
This species shows developmental changes in patterning, with two phases, J (juveniles and many mature males) and F (mature females and some mature males). All newly metamorphosed individuals are phase J, which is normally brownish to green with paired light dorsolateral lines, or an hourglass pattern. All females, and some males, develop into phase F before the first breeding season. Phase F is often colorful and variable, showing the diagnostic color characteristics for the species or subspecies. Either well-defined morphs may be present, or graded variation.

This account was taken from "Treefrogs of Africa" by Arne Schiøtz with kind permission from Edition Chimaira publishers, Frankfurt am Main.

References

Schiøtz, A. (1999). Treefrogs of Africa. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt am Main.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2008 Hyperolius fusciventris <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/531> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Nov 28, 2024.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 28 Nov 2024.

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