Hyperolius drewesi Bell, 2016
Drewes' Reed Frog | family: Hyperoliidae genus: Hyperolius |
Species Description: Bell RC. 2016. A new species of Hyperolius (Amphibia: Hyperoliidae) from Principe Island, Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe. Herpetologica 72:343-351. |
© 2020 Andrew Stanbridge (1 of 2) |
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Description The arm lacks an ulnar tubercle and the hands do not have metacarpal, palmar, or thenar tubercles. All the fingers have expanded tips with circummarginal grooves. The disc on Finger III has a width ~1.6 times that of the phalanx. The relative finger lengths are I < II < IV < III. There are round subarticular tubercles on Fingers I – IV and an additional distal bifud tubercle on Finger IV. The finger webbing formula is I 2 – 2 II 2 – 3 II 2 – 1 IV. No nuptial pads were observed (Bell 2016). The plantar has a smooth surface with a distinct, oval inner metatarsal tubercle and an ill-defined outer metatarsal tubercle. All five toes have expanded tips with Toe IV having a disc width that is ~1.5 times that of the phalanx. The toes have relative lengths of I < II < III < V < IV and well-developed, round subarticular tubercles. The toe webbing formula is I 1 – 1 II ½ – 1 III 0 – 1 IV 1 – 0 V (Bell 2016). The skin on dorsum is finely granular with fine dorsal asperities while the skin on limbs smooth. There is no dorsolateral fold. The skin on ventral surface is initially smooth at the anterior region and becomes increasingly granular towards the posterior region. The vocal sac is positioned medially. There is a small, rounded gular gland that occupies less than half of gular area (Bell 2016). Hyperolius drewesi can be differentiated from other reed frogs of the region based on location, coloration, and morphology. More specifically, H. drewesi is the only Reed frog found on Príncipe Island. It is sexually monochromatic (both sexes are green) and differs in color from H. cinnamomeoventris and H. olivaceus, which are sexually dichromatic (females are green and males are tan with bright yellow dorsolateral lines), and from H. veithi, which is sexually monochromatic (both sexes are tan with bright yellow dorsolateral lines). Hyperolius drewesi differs from H. thomensis in male body size (H. drewesi has a snout-vent length of 25 – 31 mm, H. thomensis has a snout-vent length of 36 – 41 mm), in the distal portion of the terminal phalanx (H. drewesi is disc shaped, H. thomensis is oval with the wider portion in horizontal plane), and in ventral coloration (H. drewesi is white to translucent while H. thomensis is marbled black/orange; Bell 2016). Hyperolius drewesi differs from H. molleri by the former lacking a black contour along the edges of the green/yellow band of coloration that extends down the dorsal side of the thigh (always present in H. molleri), and by lacking red/orange coloration on the dorsal and ventral sides of the thigh (always present in H. molleri; Bell 2016). In life, the iris of H. drewesi is gold. The dorsum, dorsal surface of forelimb and hindlimb, and side of the head are green. The dorsal asperities lighter colored. The dorsal surface of thigh is translucent with thin green medial band extending from dorsum to lower limb. The dorsal surface of fingers and toes are green. The ventral surfaces are translucent, but the is chest white. In preservative, the dorsum becomes light gray with lighter asperites while the side of head and the dorsal surface of forelimb and hindlimb become cream with fine black speckling. The ventral surfaces are cream (Bell 2016). Hyperolius drewesi exhibits sexual dimorphism with the sole female specimen from the species description being larger than males and with males having a round gular gland that occupies less than half of gular area, a vocal sac, and dorsal asperities. There is also developmental variation with juvenile coloration (“phase juvenile”) resembling the juvenile coloration in H. cinnamomeoventris (tan with bright yellow dorsolateral lines; Bell 2016). Distribution and Habitat Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Sao Tome and Principe
Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors Hyperolius drewesi breed near slow-moving streams and temporary ponds in primary forest and in marginal habitats with high levels of human disturbance (Bell 2016). As in many Hyperolius, females deposit eggs on the surface of leaves overhanging water. The eggs observed at the type locality were white with faint pigmentation on the animal pole and ~2 mm in diameter (Bell 2016). Comments Multilocus molecular data indicate that H. drewesi is in the genus Hyperolius and is part of the H. cinnamomeoventris species complex, which at the time of the species' description, included six described species: H. cinnamomeoventris, H. olivaceus, and H. veithi from continental Africa, H. molleri and H. thomensis endemic to São Tomé Island, and H. drewesi endemic to Príncipe Island in the Gulf of Guinea archipelago (Schick et al. 2010; Bell et al. 2015, Bell 2016, Bell et al. 2017). The species epithet, “drewesi” is an acknowledgement of Robert C. Drewes and his extensive contributions to herpetological research in Africa and in particular, his contributions to documenting biodiversity in São Tomé and Príncipe (Bell 2016).
References
Bell RC, Drewes, RC, Channing A, Gvozdik V, Kielgast J, Lötters S, Stuart BL, Zamudio KR (2015). ''Overseas dispersal of Hyperolius reed frogs from Central Africa to the oceanic islands of Sao Tome and Principe.'' Journal of Biogeography, 42(1), 65-75. [link] Bell RC, Parra JL, Badjedjea G, Barej MF, Blackburn DC, Burger M, Channing A, Dehling JM, Greenbaum E, Gvozdík V, Kielgast J, Kusamba C, Lötters S, McLaughlin PJ, Nagy ZT, Rödel M-O, Portik DM, Stuart BL, VanDerWal J, Zassi-Boulu, A-G, Zamudio KR (2017). ''Idiosyncratic responses to climate-driven forest fragmentation and marine incursions in reed frogs from Central Africa and the Gulf of Guinea Islands.'' Molecular Ecology, 26(19), 5223-5244. [link] Bell, R.C. (2016). ''A new species of Hyperolius (Amphibia: Hyperoliidae) from Príncipe Island, Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe.'' Herpetologica , 72(4), 343-351. [link] Schick S, Kielgast J, Rödder D, Muchai V, Burger M, Lötters S. (2010). ''New species of reed frog from the Congo basin with discussion of paraphyly in Cinnamon-belly reed frogs.'' Zootaxa, 2501(1), 23-36. [link] Originally submitted by: Rayna C. Bell (first posted 2019-11-14) Edited by: Ann T. Chang (2020-08-21) Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2020 Hyperolius drewesi: Drewes' Reed Frog <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/8557> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Dec 3, 2024.
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Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 3 Dec 2024. AmphibiaWeb's policy on data use. |