Hildebrandtia ornata (Peters, 1878)

Segniagbeto, Gabriel Hoinsoudé, Ohler, Annemarie, Rödel, Mark-Oliver, Luiselli, Luca & Dubois, Alain, 2024, Amphibians of Togo: taxonomy, distribution and conservation status, Zoosystema 46 (25), pp. 631-670 : 656

Hildebrandtia ornata (Peters, 1878)

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Togo • 1 ♂; Kanté ; MNHN-RA-1993.6143 .

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL. — Burkina Faso • 1 ♂, 1 ♀; Pabré ; MNHN-RA-1985.1371, MNHN-RA-1995.5755 • 1 ♀; Ouagadougou ; MNHN-RA-2000.5619 • 1 ♂; MNHN-RA-1996.3928 .

DESCRIPTION. — Large frog (SVL 57.3-64.6 mm ♂, 52.1-57.4 mm ♀), with long, robust body. Snout rounded. Head longer than broad (HW 37-45% SVL; HL 38-43% SVL). Tympanum distinct (TYD 9-12% SVL). Hind legs moderately long (TL 41-48% SVL). Toes short and strong. Webbing small, leaving more than three of the phalanges free; webbing formula: I 1– 2 ½ II 2 – 3 III 2 – 3 ½ IV 3 ½ – 1 ½ V. Back smooth, lower part of flank with small horny spinules; dorsal folds absent.

COLOURATION. — A distinct creamy white, green or brown lateral line is present on the side of the back from the tip of snout to the end of the body, separated by two dark longitudinal bands from the posterior region of the head to vent. The two dark longitudinal bands are followed by a dorsolateral brown band from the snout ending in the inguinal region. This last band is separated at the scapular region by a dark band followed by a brown band on the flank. The sides of head including the tympanic region and the tympanum, as well as the flanks, are dark brown. The most characteristic feature of this species are two white Y-shaped figures on the black throat.

SEXUAL DIMORPHISM. — Males have vocal sac openings with slits extending to the armpits and nuptial pads on first to third fingers.

HABITATS AND DISTRIBUTION. — Hildebrandtia ornata is a savannah species known from Senegal to Ethiopia, south to northern parts of South Africa, Botswana and Namibia ( Channing & Rödel 2019). In Togo, the presence of the species was reported by Bourgat (1979) and Rödel (2000: 84).