Hyperolius raymondi Conradie, Branch, and Tolley, 2013

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 : 35

Hyperolius raymondi Conradie, Branch, and Tolley, 2013 Raymond’s Reed Frog ( Fig. 17 ; Map 16 )

Material (27 specimens, 3 tadpole lots): PEM A12464–7, INBAC (no number x 2), Cuanavale River source lake, -13.08537° 18.89098°, 1,360 m asl; PEM A12514–8, river crossing before Samboano village, -12.30700° 18.62350°, 1,398 m asl; PEM A12521–2, PEM A14124 (tadpoles), Cuiva River source, -12.66825° 18.35282°, 1,407 m asl; PEM A12553–8, INBAC (no number x2), Cuito River source lake, -12.68935° 18.36012°, 1,431 m asl; PEM A12602–3, PEM A14120 (tadpoles), Calua River source lake, 6 km SE of Cuito River source, -12.73675° 18.39310°, 1,445 m asl; PEM A12741, Cuando River source, -13.00346° 19.12751°, 1,353 m asl; PEM A12816, Cuiva River source, -12.66856° 18.35307°, 1,433 m asl; PEM A13742–3, Lungwebungu River campsite, -12.58319° 18.66573°, 1,284 m asl; PEM A14127 (tadpoles), confluence of Cuito and Calua rivers, -12.74878° 18.35433°, 1,393 m asl. Additional material (1 specimen, 1 tadpole lot): P2-275 (photograph and tissue sample), wetland near old quarry east of Quemba, -12.16960° 18.22965°, 1,353 m asl; SAIAB 209041 (2 tadpoles), Quembo River source lake, -13.13586° 19.04492°, 1,372 m asl. Description: Medium sized reed frog. Most males possess two paravertebral and two dorsolateral black stripes on lime green to olive background; three males ( PEM A12515, A13742-3) did not exhibit any dorsal stripes, and in one male ( PEM A12816) the stripes faded mid-dorsally and eventually disappeared. All females devoid of dorsal markings. Adult females (n = 3) varied from 21.2–23.7 (22.6) mm (largest female: PEM A12555); adult males (n = 19) varied from 16.5–21.4 (18.8) mm (largest male: PEM A12816). Habitat and natural history notes: Found among inundated tall grass next to slow flowing water. Comments: This recently described species is currently regarded as endemic to Angola, but is expected to occur in adjacent DRC ( Conradie et al. 2013). Initially, it was only known from the rivers draining northwards into the Congo basin ( Conradie et al. 2013), and it was therefore thought to be associated with the Congo fauna. The discovery of this species in southeastern Angola corroborates Cei’s (1977) findings that the amphibian fauna located within the Cubango River system and has affinities with Congo fauna, due to the apparent lack of natural barriers between these regions. This is the southernmost record for Angola for this species, and the first from the Okavango and Zambezi River catchments.

Figures

Map 16. Distribution of Hyperolius raymondi in Angola.

Fig. 17. Adult male (above) and female (below) Hyperolius raymondi from river crossing before Samboano village. Photo by Luke Verburgt.