Description
A medium to rather large Hyperolius (males 25-28 mm) from the Kenyan highlands with very variable pattern. Dorsum uniformly greyish brown to light brown, yellow or greenish. A dark brown canthal stripe continues behind the eye to shoulder or groin. Throat of males yellow to white, green in green-backed specimens. Ventrum whitish, feet whitish to yellowish. Pupil horizontal.

The known samples of this species show much variation in pattern, so much so that it is hard to believe they all belong to the same species. Richards and Schiøtz (1977) have been able to separate one cryptic species from the complex as H. cystocandicans.

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Kenya

	View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.
	View Bd and Bsal data (11 records).

Found in montane grasslands and farmland in the highlands around Mt. Kenya; probably also in Mau Forest west of Rift Valley.

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
The call is a succession of screams. The single screams have a long duration (0.05-0.08 sec) and a well-defined frequency-intensity maximum at 2500-3000 cps.

Comments
This account was taken from "Treefrogs of Africa" by Arne Schiøtz with kind permission from Edition Chimaira publishers, Frankfurt am Main.

References

Richards, C. M. and Schiøtz, A. (1977). ''A new species of reed frog, Hyperolius cystocandicans from montane Kenya.'' Copeia, 1977(2), 295-294.

Schiøtz, A. (1999). Treefrogs of Africa. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt am Main.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2008 Hyperolius montanus <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/554> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Feb 1, 2025.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2025. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 1 Feb 2025.

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