Description
A Hyperolius from montane Kenya, males medium (23-28 mm), females large (30-36 mm). Similar to H. montanus but distinguished by the presence of a silvery-white opaque bladder visible through the ventral skin and by the presence of pectoral, brachial and digital glands in males. Pupil horizontal. Colour in females: dorsum opaque mustard yellow to orange or mustard brown, uniform or mottled. Lateral areas sometimes with a border of white or black or both. Hidden parts of limbs translucent blue, or rarely translucent pink. Males similar, but ventrum more often translucent pink. Some specimens from Meru have a green to green-gold dorsum.

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Kenya

	View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.
	View Bd and Bsal data (10 records).

Open farmland and grassland at rather high altitudes. Recorded from a number of localities in montane Kenya, from Limuru to Thompson's Falls and Nyambeni Mts., most often together with H. montanus.

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
The males call from some distance from the edge of ponds, from low bushes and grass. The voice of H. cystocandicans is a series of brief quiet clacks, audibly different from the longer screams of H. montanus.

The eggs are cream-coloured with a black pole. Investigated females carried 120 to 260 eggs. Development from eggs to metamorphosis lasts 80-90 days.

Comments
Sympatric with but reproductively isolated from H. montanus.

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 cystocandicans <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/520> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Dec 23, 2024.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 23 Dec 2024.

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