Tanzaniaherps.org
The herpetofauna of Mountains of Tanzania
Arthroleptis stenodactylus , Pfeffer, 1893
IUCN: LEAST CONCERN (LC)
type
Holotype: ZMH; presumably destroyed in World War II. Zoologisches Museum für Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.type locality
Kihengo, TanzaniaHabitat and Ecology
It is one of the most common species found in leaf litter in a very wide variety of habitats, including forest, savannah woodland, thickets, wasteland, and suburban areas. It lays its unpigmented eggs in the leaf litter, in hollows or burrows in damp earth, often under bushes or around the roots of trees. It breeds by direct development, and is not dependent upon water. Clutches consist of 33 – 80 eggs 2 mm in diameter. Emerging frogs are 20 – 28 mm in length.
Major Threats
Conservation measures
It occurs in many protected areas.
Description and Diagnosis
A stocky litter frog (SVL 28-40mm) with a large broad head and short legs (tibia less than ½ SVL). The dorsum is brown, usually with a darker three-lobed figure, and occasionally with a light middorsal stripe. Most individuals have two distinct dark sacral spots. The tympanum is oval and distinct. A dark mark curves from the eye to the arm over the tympanum. The ventral surface is light, often with gray mottling in the pectoral region of females, and on the throat of males. Males can be distinguished from females by the elongated third finger. In both males and females the inner metatarsal tubercle is at least as large as the first toe. Toes do not end in disks.
Call and Calling bahaviour
Males call from leaf litter during the day and at night. The call is a quick high-pitched whistle repeated at a rate of two per second.
mp3 of the call
sonagram of the call
Similar species
A. stenodactylus has a large flat inner metatarsal tubercle that is absent in the other Arthroleptis species currently recognized in the Eastern Arc.
Data providers
Selected Bibliography
Frost, D.R. 2010. Amphibian Species of the World: an online reference. Version 5.4 (8 April, 2010). American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. http://research.amnh.org/vz/herpetology/amphibia/
Harper, E.B., G.J. Measey, D.A. Patrick, M. Menegon and J.R. Vonesh. 2010. Field Guide to the Amphibians of the Eastern Arc Mountains and Coastal Forests of Tanzania and Kenya. Camerapix Publishers International, Nairobi, Kenya.
Msuya, C., J. Poynton, K. Howell, L. Mazibuko, S. Lötters. 2008. Arthroleptis stenodactylus. In: IUCN 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 24 August 2010.