Ptychadena cf. schillukorum (Werner, 1907)

Kirchhof, Sebastian, Wasonga, Victor, Mazuch, Tomáš, Spawls, Stephen & Malonza, Patrick Kinyatta, 2023, An annotated checklist of the herpetofauna of the Sibiloi National Park in northern Kenya based on field surveys, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 324) 17 (1 / 2), pp. 1-18 : 4-5

Ptychadena cf. schillukorum (Werner, 1907)

Vouchers: NMK-A1825 (field no. SK16 1105) Localities: IL ( R)

Remarks: Ptychadena schillukorum currently has a large distribution range across sub-Saharan Africa, from Mauritania to Somalia and south to Angola and Mozambique. The taxonomy of frogs referred to as P. schillukorum is unresolved, and this taxon may actually represent a species complex (e.g., Nago et al. 2006). We assigned individual SK16 1105 ( Fig. 3E ) to P. cf. schillukorum based on the following features: skin of the flank granular or warty, tympanum-eye diameter ratio about 0.70, both internarial distance and nostril-tip of snout distance less than nostril-eye distance.

A previous record from the Omo River delta in Ethiopia already exists. On the night of 9 December 2016, the sole individual SK16 1105 was found sitting on soft sand in the dry riverbed of an ephemeral river (known as “lagga” or “lagha”), about 1.6 km from the lake shore. In arid lands, this species usually inhabits permanent water bodies such as swamps and springs where they can occur in sympatry with P. nilotica (e.g., in Shompole swamp, Magadi, southwestern Kenya) ( PK Malonza, pers. obs.). Molecular analyses will help to resolve the taxonomic status of the P. schillukorum group.

Figures

Fig. 3. Amphibian species recorded during the surveys: (A) Poyntonophrynus lughensis; (B) Sclerophrys xeros; (C) Sclerophrys turkanae; (D) Ptychadena nilotica; (E) Ptychadena cf. schillukorum; and (F) Tomopterna wambensis.