Description
A relatively large African puddle frog, with very large, muscular hindlegs.

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Congo, the Democratic Republic of the

	View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.
	View Bd and Bsal data (4 records).

Found in montane forest in the Itombwe Highlands in southern Kivu Province, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, at elevations above 2,400 m asl. It inhabits swamps (Drewes and Pickersgill 2004) and is found in highland forested streams (Greenbaum, pers. comm.).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
Presumably breeds in the swamps (Drewes and Pickersgill 2004).

Trends and Threats
This species was not recorded between its description in 1951 and its rediscovery in 2009 by an expedition led by Eli Greenbaum of University of Texas El Paso. Population status is unknown (Drewes and Pickersgill 2004); however, it has been found only in pristine forest, and forest habitat on Itombwe is increasingly under pressure from agriculture and wood collection (Greenbaum, pers. comm.).

Relation to Humans
Consumed for food. The species was rediscovered in 2009 when villagers offered to sell their frog dinner to expedition scientists (Greenbaum, pers. comm.)

Possible reasons for amphibian decline

General habitat alteration and loss
Habitat modification from deforestation, or logging related activities
Intensified agriculture or grazing

Comments
First described by Laurent (1951).

References

Drewes, R., and Pickersgill, M. 2004. Phrynobatrachus asper. In: IUCN 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.4. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 23 May 2011.

Laurent, R.F. (1951). ''Deux reptiles et onze batraciens nouveaux d'Afrique Centrale.'' Revue de Zoologie et de Botanique Africaines, 44, 360-381.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2011 Phrynobatrachus asper <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/3757> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Nov 22, 2024.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 22 Nov 2024.

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