Ptychadena sp. aff. mascareniensis (Dumeril & Bibron, 1841)

Badjedjea, Gabriel, Masudi, Franck M., Akaibe, Benjamin Dudu & Gvoždík, Václav, 2022, Amphibians of Kokolopori: an introduction to the amphibian fauna of the Central Congolian Lowland Forests, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 301) 16 (1), pp. 35-70 : 61-62

Ptychadena sp. aff. mascareniensis

Fig. 10G .

Area: Yalokole, Yotemankele.

Season/survey: Wet (May 2018, Nov 2018), dry (Aug 2019).

Material: CSB:Herp: RNBK 069, 080, 120, 149, 184, 531, 641, 642, 643, 677, 678; IVB-H-CD 18221, 18226– 18229, 18231, 18233–18235, 18272–18274.

Comments: This species was usually found directly in villages, or nearby in periodical muddy pools formed after heavy rains. This species does not enter pristine forest, but can be found along streams in swampy places at forest edges. It may be syntopic with other Ptychadena species, e.g., P. perreti . The P. mascareniensis species

complex is distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa, usually in open habitats, including human settlements and agricultural sites ( Rödel 2000). It enters forested regions along roads. Twelve evolutionary lineages were identified in a recent study ( Zimkus et al. 2017), with only three of them named. In addition to P. mascareniensis comprising at least three evolutionary lineages from Réunion, Mauritius, Seychelles, and Madagascar, P. nilotica is known from southern to northeastern Africa, including eastern Africa, and P. newtoni is endemic to São Tomé Island in the Gulf of Guinea. The remaining lineages have remained unresolved taxonomically (usually named P. cf. mascareniensis or P. “ mascareniensis ”; Frost 2021), treated as operational taxonomic units (OTUs). In DRC, P. nilotica and three OTUs (6, 8, 9) have been recorded, of which two have been found in forested lowlands ( OTU 6 and OTU 8). From available data, it seems that OTU 8 is confined to the central and eastern Congolian forests ( Zimkus et al. 2017). There is probably no name available for OTU 8. If it proves to be distinct, it needs to be described formally as a new species.

Figures

Fig. 10. Phrynobatrachids (Phrynobatrachus), ptychadenids (Ptychadena), and a pyxicephalid (Aubria). (A) Phrynobatrachus sp. aff. auritus (male). (B) Ph. cf. giorgii (male). (C) Ph. cf. auritus (male). (D) Ptychadena aequiplicata (female). (E) Pt. christyi (male), extralimital specimen from Mosite (0.956°N, 23.560°E). (F) Pt. perreti (male). (G) Pt. sp. aff. mascareniensis (male). (H) Aubria masako (male).