Description
A medium-sized (Males 32-37 mm, females 48-53 mm) rather stout Leptopelis from forests in the Gughe Mts. of Ethiopia (2600-2700 m). The snout is brief, often rounded or truncated. Dorsal pattern typically consisting of three longitudinal dark stripes, the mid-dorsal always confluent with the interorbital bar. Males with moderately to very conspicuous pectoral glands as well as glands on first finger and inner faces of forearm and upper arm. Colour in life. - Dorsum pale grey, brown to brick red or pale to bright yellowish green. Darker markings in golden or grey-brown to blackish typically form a pattern consisting of a mid-dorsal stripe, often bifurcating anteriorly and always confluent with the interorbital bar, and a pair of shorter dorsolateral stripes or blotches. A brown or blackish canthal stripe continues at least to the shoulder region where it tends to break up into a series of large irregular lateral blotches. Ventrum white with faint mottling. L. susanae can be separated from sympatric populations of L. ragazzii which have larger discs and a longer tibia, but allopatric populations do not show these distinctions. The colour pattern separates it from all other Ethiopian forms.
Voice. - Males call from exposed sites on vegetation close to streams at a height of about 25 to 150 cm. The voice is a quiet "click" possibly accompanied by a low scream or creaking sound. Largen did not note any difference in voice from the sympatric ragazzii, but did not listen for any difference either, not then being aware of the distinctness of this form.

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Ethiopia

	View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.
	View Bd and Bsal data (2 records).

Occurrence. - Leptopelis susanae is only known from two adjacent localities in the Gughe Mountains, Ethiopia. Three localities were sampled: at 2700 m at the edge of a remnant but quite dense forest L. susanae was found as the only species. At 2600 m in very poor relict forest which bordered a large stream it was taken together with L. ragazzii, the latter being more abundant. In dense montane forest at 2200 m only L. ragazzii was found.

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

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2008 Leptopelis susanae <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/3674> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Nov 26, 2024.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 26 Nov 2024.

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