Description
A small bushland Hyperolius (males 21–26 mm, females 30–33 mm) from easternmost Nigeria and western Cameroun. Dorsum uniform yellow to brown, flanks darker chocolate-brown, well-delimited from the dorsal colour. Sometimes spots of the same colour on dorsum. Ventrum yellow (phase J) or black with large white spots (phase F). Dorsal surface of tibia always bi-coloured, the front part brown, the hind part yellow (this is a distinctive character for the species). Pupil horizontal.

This species is similar to H. pardalis and a subspecific relationship or synonymy has been suggested. Amiet has studied the two species in the field and demonstrated that they are distinct species with different calls, partly sympatric.

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, the Democratic Republic of the, Gabon, Nigeria

	View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.
	View Bd and Bsal data (24 records).

Bushland in Eastern Nigeria and western Cameroun. A doubtful record from northern R. D. Congo.

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
The call is a high-pitched buzzing, less tonal and of a longer duration than that of the sympatric H. ocellatus. The call consists of a large number of figures at a rate of about 70 per second and with an indistinct frequency-intensity maximum at 380–4200 cps.

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 bolifambae <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/510> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Dec 28, 2024.

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

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