Hyperolius aff. bocagei Steindachner, 1867

Conradie, Werner, Keates, Chad, Verburgt, Luke, Baptista, Ninda L. & Harvey, James, 2023, Contributions to the herpetofauna of the Angolan Okavango- Cuando-Zambezi river drainages. Part 3: Amphibians, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 325) 17 (1), pp. 19-56 : 36

Hyperolius aff. bocagei Steindachner, 1867

Bocage’s Reed Frog ( Figs. 19–21; Map 18)

Material (74 specimens, 10 tadpole lots): PEM A12423, Cunde waterfall, -13.77390° 18.75520°, 1,287 m asl; PEM A12455–60, PEM A14085–6 (tadpoles) Cuanavale River source lake, -13.08537° 18.89098°, 1,340 m asl; PEM A12489, PEM A14098 (tadpoles), INBAC (no number), Dala River, near Samanunga village, -12.93169° 18.81458°, 1,363 m asl; PEM A12508–12, river crossing before Samboano village, -12.30700° 18.62350°, 1,397 m asl; PEM A12543–52, INBAC (no number x2), Cuito River source lake, -12.68935° 18.36012°, 1,431 m asl; PEM A12592–8, Calua River source lake, 6 km SE of Cuito River source, -12.73675° 18.39310°, 1,446 m asl; PEM A12619, Stop 1: road to Cuito River source, -12.25050° 18.63730°, 1,556 m asl; PEM A12674, Camp 3, Malova Village, Mipanha River, -14.09140° 16.41476°, 1,553 m asl; PEM A12734–7, INBAC: WC-4833, INBAC (no number x2), Cuando River source, -13.00346° 19.12751°, 1,553 m asl; PEM A12788–9, INBAC: WC-4614, Quembo River, source trap 2, -13.13544° 19.04397°, 1,374 m asl; PEM A14112 (tadpoles), Cuiva River, -11.98346° 17.72841°, 1,264 m asl; PEM A12815, PEM A14125 (tadpoles), Cuiva River source, -12.66856° 18.35307°, 1,407 m asl; PEM A12857, INBAC: WC-4616; INBAC (no number x5) Quembo River source lake, -13.13624° 19.04591°, 1,411 m asl; PEM A13767–72, INBAC: WC-6979 Lungwebungu River, old oxbows, -12.58129° 18.67162°, 1,304 m asl; PEM A13800–2, PEM A13803 (tadpoles), Lake Tchanssengwe, -12.41402° 18.64417°, 1,415 m asl; PEM A14090 (tadpoles), 4 km upstream from Cuanavale River source, -13.05084° 18.89726°, 1,394 m asl; PEM A14103 (tadpoles), 4 km downstream from Cuanavale River source camp, -13.11585° 18.90246°, 1,354 m asl; PEM A14106 (tadpoles), confluence of Cuito and Calua rivers, -13.12458° 18.89989°, 1,345 m asl; PEM A14686, detour route just across bridge over Cuiva River, -12.13942° 18.39393°, 1,385 m asl; PEM A14693 (tadpoles), Lungwebungu River camp, first oxbow on right side, -12.58117° 18.67106°, 1,294 m asl; PEM A14717, en route from Samanunga village to Cuanavale River source, -12.94331° 18.81118°, 1,407 m asl; PEM A14727–8, Quembo River, oxbow near small waterfall, -13.54257° 19.29551°, 1,233 m asl; PEM A14748–9, PEM A14763–65, PEM A14778, Quembo River right side tributary (Micongo River) past village, -13.51877° 19.28487°, 1,248 m asl; PEM A14757, left side tributary (Condinde River) at Cuando River bridge, -13.60076° 19.52675° 1,219 m asl. Additional material (16 tadpole lots): SAIAB 204553 (7 tadpoles), Cuanavale River source lake, -13.08997° 18.89389°, 1,358 m asl; SAIAB 209059 (15 tadpoles), Cuanavale River near confluence, -13.12478° 18.90017°, 1,347 m asl; SAIAB 204509 (29 tadpoles), outlet from Kuembo River source lake, -13.13689° 19.03144°, 1,375 m asl; SAIAB 204564 (25 tadpoles), SAIAB 209074 (1 tadpole), Quembo River source lake, -13.13611° 19.04500°, 1,366 m asl; SAIAB 209066 (9 tadpoles), Quembo River source lake, -13.14025° 19.04822°, 1,365 m asl; SAIAB 209062 (2 tadpoles), swamp near Cuanavale River source lake camp, -13.10750° 18.86089°, 1,386 m asl; SAIAB 204465 (19 tadpoles), Cuando River source pool, -13.00383° 19.12719°, 1,350 m asl; SAIAB 209060 (2 tadpoles), stream outflow about 2.6 km downstream of source lake, -13.00317° 19.15153°, 1,331 m asl; SAIAB 204472 (13 tadpoles), Cuando River, -13.09142° 19.35850°, 1,283 m asl; SAIAB 209067 (8 tadpoles), on Cuanavale River road, -13.14190° 19.44503°, 1,301 m asl; SAIAB 209070 (10 tadpoles), pan near Cuanavale River camp, seepage, -13.10750° 18.86089°, 1,387 m asl; SAIAB 204569 (13 tadpoles), Samununga village, -12.93228° 18.81672°, 1,365 m asl; SAIAB 209063 (6 tadpoles), small stream 3 km below Cuanavale River source camp, -13.12539° 18.89914°, 1,344 m asl; SAIAB 209069 (11 tadpoles), pool in wetland on road edge, west of Munhango, -12.17806° 18.24306°, 1,370 m asl; SAIAB 209075 (18 tadpoles), Cuando River source bog, -13.00383° 19.12719°, 1,350 m asl. Description: Medium sized reed frog; rounded snout; reduced webbing; ventrum granular. Three different color forms were observed, i.e., plain light to dark green, brown, and bright red; thin dorsolateral white stripe present; small white specks on dorsal side of legs; toes and webbing red. Tadpoles with ventrum spotted and ventral blotches remain present in juveniles but fade in adults. Adult females (n = 11) varied from 16.7–21.9 (19.6) mm (largest female: PEM A12549); adult males (n = 52) varied from 14.8–21.1 (18.7) mm (largest male: PEM A12592). Habitat and natural history notes: Found at the margins of large rivers and source lakes within dense emergent wetland vegetation. Sympatric with other species of Hyperolius , mostly H. nasutus and H. parallelus . Comments: Initially we assigned these specimens to H. bocagei (NGOWP 2017) , however it is generally regarded as a larger species that is associated with the viridiflavus group (see Schiøtz 1999). This new material differs in size (smaller) and webbing (less webbing) from H. bocagei ( Schiøtz 1999) . Phylogenetic work is currently underway to determine its taxonomic status.