AnimaliaLeast ConcernacceptedspeciesAcceptedRestricted

Astylosternus batesi

Benito River Night Frog(+6)·(Boulenger, 1900)

GBIF:2429632

0countries

0datasets

0year

Descendants

Synonyms

Children

PROFILE

Species Profile

Characteristics

Extant

ABOUT

Descriptions(6)

This species is named for G.L. Bates, who collected the type specimens from the Benito River.

African Amphibians//creativecommons.org/licences/by/3.0/

Vomerine teeth are in two small round groups between the choanae. The head is large, much broader than long. The snout is broadly rounded, with short canthi and very oblique, slightly concave lores. Nostrils are equidistant from the eye and the tip of the snout. Eye is large; interorbital space as broad as the upper eyelid. Tympanum is very distinct, oval, and slightly smaller than the eye. The first finger is longer than second, nearly as long as third. Subarticular tubercles of fingers and toes are feeble. A small, oval, inner metatarsal tubercle is present. The tibio-tarsal articulation reaches the eye. Skin is smooth and shiny; a glandular fold is present above the tympanum. Fingers and toes are free of webbing; tips are slightly swollen. Terminal phalange of all but the inner toe exhibit a sharp curved non-retractile bony claw, projecting through a slit on the lower surface of the extremity of the toe (Boulenger, 1900).

Dorsum is dark purplish brown, and venter is white. A black canthal and temporal streak are present, and a black transverse line is found between the eyes. Two dark bars are on the upper lip: the first under the nostril and the second below the anterior third of the eye. Limbs exhibit rather indistinct dark cross-bars. Lower surface of the crus and tarsus are dark brown (Boulenger, 1900).

African Amphibians//creativecommons.org/licences/by/3.0/

Outer metatarsals are bound together. The omosternum and sternum exhibit a bony style (Boulenger, 1900).

African Amphibians//creativecommons.org/licences/by/3.0/

The type specimen measures 70 mm (Boulenger, 1900).

African Amphibians//creativecommons.org/licences/by/3.0/

Description. Long slender tadpole with long, muscular tail and narrow fins (Fig. 1); body oblong oval in dorsal and lateral view; back with a medial longitudinal-depression; snout rounded in dorsal view, more narrow-rounded in lateral view; body length approximately 0.3 (31.3 - 36.7 %, N = 3) of total length; body height 46.3 + / - 5.6 % of body length; body width 60.5 + / - 6.0 % of body length; eyes positioned dorsolaterally, eye diameter 11.3 + / - 1.4 % of body length; nostrils positioned dorsolaterally, closer to snout tip than to eyes; inter-nostril distance 75.2 + / - 9.7 % of interorbital distance; tail fins narrow, dorsal and ventral fin originating from tail base, ventral fin height narrow, reaching 70.7 + / - 4.7 % of dorsal fin height; highest part of tail approximately in the middle of the tail; body height 91.7 + / - 11.5 % of maximum tail height; tail axis width 41.3 + / - 11.4 % of body width; tail axis height 59.8 + / - 13.9 % of maximum tail height; tail tip rounded; vent tube dextral; body with large lateral air sacs, extending from spiracle to end of body; short spiracle, sinistral; mouth ventral, very close to snout, narrower than interorbital distance; keratodont formula 1: 2 / 2 + 2: 1; anterior lip only lateral with papillae, large rostral gap; posterior lip with 2 - 3 rows of approximately 20 uniform papillae, papillae triangular and approximately as long as broad (Fig. 1 d); black jaw sheaths massive and serrated; upper jaw with a big medial projection (fang); lower jaw U-shaped with a medial notch. The largest tadpole, still Gosner stage 25 (ZMB 82865), measured 25 mm body length. The most developed specimen (ZMB 82784, Gosner stage 36) had similar body length of 24.7 mm. When reconstructing the tail tip of the largest specimens by the shape of tails in smaller specimens we estimate the maximum total length of A. batesi tadpoles to be 60 - 80 mm.

Tadpoles of three western African frog genera: Astylosternus Werner, 1898, Nyctibates Boulenger, 1904, and Scotobleps Boulenger, 1900 (Amphibia, Anura, Arthroleptidae)

Material examined. ZMB 82863 (GenBank MK 318840), Gosner stage 25, Cameroon, Mt Kala, 899 m, 3 ° 50 ' 27.66 " N, 11 ° 20 ' 52.44 " E, 9 November 2011, leg. M. F. Barej, H. C. Liedtke & N. L. Gonwouo; ZMB 82864 (GenBank MK 318841), Gosner stage 25, Cameroon, Ebo Forest, Bekob, 893 m, 4 ° 21 ' 51.96 " N, 10 ° 25 ' 10.26 " E, 30 September 2011, leg. M. Dahmen; ZMB 82865 (GenBank MK 318842), Gosner stage 25, Cameroon, Ebo Forest, Bekob, 852 m, 4 ° 21 ' 54.36 " N, 10 ° 25 ' 17.22 " E, 1 September 2011, leg. M. Dahmen; ZMB 82866 (GenBank MK 318843), 2 tadpoles, Gosner stage 25, Cameroon, Ebo Forest, Bekob, 917 m, 4 ° 21 ' 27.42 " N, 10 ° 25 ' 5.94 " E, 9 January 2011, leg. M. Hirschfeld & F. Groezinger; ZMB 82784 (GenBank MK 318844), Gosner stage 36, Cameroon, Ebo Forest, Bekob, 807 m, 4 ° 21 ' 54.3 " N, 10 ° 25 ' 24.54 " E, 10 January 2011, leg. M. Hirschfeld & F. Groezinger. All tadpoles were caught in small to medium-sized streams. The description is mainly based on ZMB 82865 and ZMB 82784. Genotyped tadpoles have been compared with an adult frog (MC 11 _ 205; GenBank MK 318905) from Mount Kala, near Kala village, Cameroon. The genotyped individuals were genetically almost identical, the maximum uncorrected p-differences in pairwise comparisons was 0.2 % (1 bp).

Tadpoles of three western African frog genera: Astylosternus Werner, 1898, Nyctibates Boulenger, 1904, and Scotobleps Boulenger, 1900 (Amphibia, Anura, Arthroleptidae)

Export occurrence data

Darwin Core Archive (ZIP)

GEOGRAPHY

Distribution Map

Occurrence Map

Loading map…

Tiles © GBIF Maps API | Map powered by MapLibre GL

REGIONS

Geographic Distribution(1)

Global

least concern

DATA

Occurrence Datasets

Loading datasets…

Common names used for this species across different languages and regions. Available in 4 languages. 1 preferred.

Benito River Night Frogeng★Benito River Night FrogengBenito River Night FrogengRiver Night Frogengdrápenka Batesovaces+2 more

Vernacular (common) names are the everyday names used for a species in different languages and regions. A single species may have dozens of common names worldwide. This taxon has names in 4 languages. 1 name preferred.