Description
A small forest Hyperolius (males 20–29 mm, females 26–31 mm) from West Africa and western Cameroun. Males with a very small, round gular flap. Pupil horizontal. Phase J with a conspicuous hour-glass pattern.

H. sylvaticus can be separated into three subspecies, characterised by the shape of the dorsal hourglass pattern and the size and character of the light dorsolateral stripes in phase F. The differences seem to be constant in available samples.
1. Hyperolius s. ivorensis Schiøtz 1967. Small (Males 20–25 mm), dorsal pattern in phase J broken mid-dorsally, phase F with narrow, undelimited dorsolateral stripe.
Côte d’Ivoire.

2. Hyperolius s. sylvaticus Schiøtz 1967. Small (Males 21–26 mm), phase J with coherent dorsal pattern, phase F with undelimited light dorsolateral stripe.
Ghana.

3. Hyperolius s. nigeriensis Schiøtz 1967. Rather large (males 24–29 mm), phase J with dorsal pattern broken mid-dorsally and with a dark, well delimited area behind eye; phase F with broad, dark-delimited dorsolateral stripe.
Nigeria and westernmost Cameroun.

The tadpole has the usual dentition, 1/1+1,2. The tail is very long (225–240% of body length), and with a low fin.

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria

	View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.
	View Bd and Bsal data (3 records).

A forest form found both together with the bushland fauna and the forest fauna in the forest belt. Abundant from Côte d’Ivoire to westernmost Cameroun. Should be searched for in Liberia.

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
The call is a series of brief metallic clicks with a frequency intensity maximum at 4000–4500 cps. There is not sufficient data to judge whether the voices of the different subspecies are identical.

The eggs are white with a green tinge, the jelly clear.

Comments
This species shows developmental changes in patterning, with two phases, J (juveniles and many mature males) and F (mature females and some mature males). All newly metamorphosed individuals are phase J, which is normally brownish to green with paired light dorsolateral lines, or an hourglass pattern. All females, and some males, develop into phase F before the first breeding season. Phase F is often colorful and variable, showing the diagnostic color characteristics for the species or subspecies. Either well-defined morphs may be present, or graded variation.

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 sylvaticus <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/591> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Dec 21, 2024.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 21 Dec 2024.

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