Description
A Hyperolius from the savanna at high altitude in Tanzania, with the males minute (12-17 mm), and the females medium-sized (18-24 mm). Dorsum brown with light canthal and dorsolateral lines. Gular flap smooth and very large. A few black spinosities present in front of the gular flap near the tip of the jaw. Pupil horizontal. Some females have broad light canthal, and irregular dorsolateral, stripes, and spots on dorsum.

The most remarkable feature of this species is the minute size of the males which are no larger than newly metamorphosed H. pictus, a sympatric species. The species is not well known and in some respects resembles H. spinigularis. It is possible they belong to the same complex.

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Tanzania, United Republic of

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

Collected on open, windswept grasslands in south-eastern Tanzania. Easily overlooked.

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
The call is a fast series of quiet, unmelodic clicks with an ill-defined frequency-intensity maximum at 4200-4300 cps.

Comments
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 minutissimus <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/551> 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.

AmphibiaWeb's policy on data use.