Kassina senegalensis

Bubbling Kassina (Fig. 23; Map 20)

Material (56 specimens, 3 tadpole lots): PEM A 12604 – 7, Calua River source, 6 km SE of Cuito River source, - 12.73675 ° 18.39310 °, 1,445 m asl; PEM A 12621, Cutata River, - 12.56916 ° 16.49334 °, 1,647 m asl; PEM A 12699 – 700, Lungwebungu River camp bridge crossing, - 12.58347 ° 18.66598 °, 1,304 m asl; PEM A 12785, Cuando River source trap 4, - 13.00164 ° 19.12960 °, 1,374 m asl; PEM A 12790, Quembo River trap 2, - 13.13544 ° 19.04397 °, 1,374 m asl; PEM A 12829 – 30, Culua River source, - 12.73723 ° 18.39340 °, 1,444 m asl; PEM A 12863 – 9, INBAC (no number x 2), Quembo River source lake, - 13.13624 ° 19.04591 °, 1,366 m asl; PEM A 13744 (tadpoles), Lungwebungu River campsite, - 12.58319 ° 18.66573 °, 1,284 m asl; PEM A 13757 – 62, INBAC: WC- 6261, Lungwebungu River, trap 2, - 12.58199 ° 18.66562 °, 1,208 m asl; PEM A 14094 (tadpoles), series of pans south of Tempué, - 13.55719 ° 18.85519 °, 1,315 m asl; PEM A 14109 (tadpoles), Cutata River, - 12.56916 ° 16.49334 °, 1,647 m asl; PEM A 14687, PEM A 14700, INBAC: WC- 6759, Lungwebungu River camp, - 12.58439 ° 18.66748 °, 1,297 m asl; PEM A 14718, PEM A 14722, Quembo River bridge camp, - 13.52746 ° 19.28060 °, 1,241 m asl; PEM A 14753 – 4, PEM A 14766, Quembo River right side tributary (Micongo River) past village, - 13.51877 ° 19.28487 °, 1,248 m asl; PEM A 14805 – 9, INBAC: WC- 7017, Luio River camp floodplains, - 13.19711 ° 20.22194 °, 1,181 m asl; PEM A 14844 – 50, PEM A 14867 – 72, INBAC: WC- 6916, INBAC: WC- 6917, INBAC: WC- 6953, Lake Hundo, - 14.97431 ° 21.62966 °, 1,100 m asl. Additional material (1 tadpole lot): SAIAB 209106 (28 tadpoles), small wooden bridge across wetland on road between Cuanavale River source camp and Munhango, - 12.30714 ° 18.62333 °, 1,399 m asl. Description: Medium sized Kassina; elliptical vertical pupils; tympanum visible. Dorsum yellow-mustard, with irregular shaped dark brown blotches, sometimes fused to form a vertebral stripe; ventrum white. In females, the cloaca is swollen, with papillae pointed downward. Male throats are black. Adult females (n = 16) varied from 27.9 – 41.1 (37.6) mm (largest female: INBAC: WC- 6759); adult males (n = 34) varied from 35.2 – 43.6 (39.2) mm (largest male: PEM A 14809). Habitat and natural history notes: This species was found in sympatry with K. kuvangensis in the study area, although not syntopically. Kassina senegalensis was found in more open habitat or sparse vegetation, calling from the edges of waterbodies, while K. kuvangensis was only heard calling from wellvegetated floodplains and source lakes. Comments: Schiøtz (1999) divided material of K. senegalensis into different forms, based on the dorsal markings. As pointed out by Poynton and Broadley (1987), there is considerable overlap in these color forms between and within populations. Due to the large distributional range of this species from Senegal to South Africa (Channing and Rödel 2019), spanning many different habitats and biomes, cryptic species are expected, and this species needs a broad-scale phylogeographic study.