Description
A small Alexteroon (24-28 mm) from the forest in southern Cameroun, western Gabon and Rep. Congo. Dorsum greyish to brown with irregular transverse darker bands. Ventral part of body and head white, of limbs translucent greenish. Fringes only developed on hand and 4th finger, and on foot and 5th toe.

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Cameroon, Congo, Gabon

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

This species is widespread and abundant in southern Cameroun, where the voice is often heard along rivers, but is very difficult to collect. It is also known from Gabon and Rep. Congo, in the latter country reported by Largen and Dowsett-Lemaire (1991) as Hyperolius tuberculatus.

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
The voice consists of a double click, more sonorous than the voice of the other Alexteroon. The calling site of the males is very high up, often more than 5 meters high and close to rivers, but the eggs are apparently placed quite low in the vegetation. The tadpoles are similar to those of A. obstetricans. The eggs and small tadpoles are protected by the female.

Comments
For a thorough phylogenetic analysis of the genus Hyperolius including (now subgenus Alexteroon) see Ernst et al 2021.

References

Amiet, J.-L (2000). "Les Alexteroon du Cameroun." Alytes, 17((3-4)), 125-164.

Ernst R, C Kehlmaier, NL Baptista, P Vaz Pinto, MF Branquima, M Dewynter, A Fouquet, A Ohler and A Schmitz (2021). "Filling the gaps: The mitogenomes of Afrotropical egg-guarding frogs based on historical type material and a re-assessment of the nomenclatural status of Alexteroon Perret, 1988 (Hyperoliidae)." Zoologischer Anzeiger, 293, 215–224. [link]

Largen, M. J. and Dowsett-Lemaire, F. (1991). ''Amphibians (Anura) from the Kouilou River Basin, République du Congo.'' Tauraco Research Report, 4, 145-168.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2023 Hyperolius hypsiphonus <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/5521> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Dec 28, 2024.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 28 Dec 2024.

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