Description
A forest Hyperolius, males 21–28 mm, females 25–32 mm. No light triangle on the snout. Dorsum greyish green. Ventrum white, femur and extremities bright yellow. Throat intense green (female holotype). Phase J with light yellow-green dorsolateral lines. Pupil horizontal. According to Laurent H. diaphanus is very similar to H. frontalis but lacks the light triangle on the snout. The extremities of H. diaphanus are yellow rather than orange-red. H. diaphanus is also somewhat smaller.

Distribution and Habitat

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

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

Only known from the forests of eastern R. D. Congo, from medium altitudes (650-1700 m).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
The males call from trees at some height, in the same way as frontalis and chrysogaster.

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 diaphanus <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/522> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Sep 14, 2024.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 14 Sep 2024.

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