Kassina senegalensis (Duméril and Bibron, 1841)

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 : 38

Kassina senegalensis (Duméril and Bibron, 1841)

Bubbling Kassina ( Fig. 23 ; Map 20 )

Material (56 specimens, 3 tadpole lots): PEM A12604–7, Calua River source, 6 km SE of Cuito River source, -12.73675° 18.39310°, 1,445 m asl; PEM A12621, Cutata River, -12.56916° 16.49334°, 1,647 m asl; PEM A12699–700, Lungwebungu River camp bridge crossing, -12.58347° 18.66598°, 1,304 m asl; PEM A12785, Cuando River source trap 4, -13.00164° 19.12960°, 1,374 m asl; PEM A12790, Quembo River trap 2, -13.13544° 19.04397°, 1,374 m asl; PEM A12829–30, Culua River source, -12.73723° 18.39340°, 1,444 m asl; PEM A12863–9, INBAC (no number x2), Quembo River source lake, -13.13624° 19.04591°, 1,366 m asl; PEM A13744 (tadpoles), Lungwebungu River campsite, -12.58319° 18.66573°, 1,284 m asl; PEM A13757–62, INBAC: WC-6261, Lungwebungu River, trap 2, -12.58199° 18.66562°, 1,208 m asl; PEM A14094 (tadpoles), series of pans south of Tempué, -13.55719° 18.85519°, 1,315 m asl; PEM A14109 (tadpoles), Cutata River, -12.56916° 16.49334°, 1,647 m asl; PEM A14687, PEM A14700, INBAC: WC-6759, Lungwebungu River camp, -12.58439° 18.66748°, 1,297 m asl; PEM A14718, PEM A14722, Quembo River bridge camp, -13.52746° 19.28060°, 1,241 m asl; PEM A14753–4, PEM A14766, Quembo River right side tributary (Micongo River) past village, -13.51877° 19.28487°, 1,248 m asl; PEM A14805–9, INBAC: WC-7017, Luio River camp floodplains, -13.19711° 20.22194°, 1,181 m asl; PEM A14844–50, PEM A14867–72, INBAC: WC-6916, INBAC: WC-6917, INBAC: WC-6953, Lake Hundo, -14.97431° 21.62966°, 1,100 m asl. Additional material (1 tadpole lot): SAIAB 209106 (28 tadpoles), small wooden bridge across wetland on road between Cuanavale River source camp and Munhango, -12.30714° 18.62333°, 1,399 m asl. Description: Medium sized Kassina ; elliptical vertical pupils; tympanum visible. Dorsum yellow-mustard, with irregular shaped dark brown blotches, sometimes fused to form a vertebral stripe; ventrum white. In females, the cloaca is swollen, with papillae pointed downward. Male throats are black. Adult females (n = 16) varied from 27.9–41.1 (37.6) mm (largest female: INBAC: WC-6759); adult males (n = 34) varied from 35.2–43.6 (39.2) mm (largest male: PEM A14809). Habitat and natural history notes: This species was found in sympatry with K. kuvangensis in the study area, although not syntopically. Kassina senegalensis was found in more open habitat or sparse vegetation, calling from the edges of waterbodies, while K. kuvangensis was only heard calling from wellvegetated floodplains and source lakes. Comments: Schiøtz (1999) divided material of K. senegalensis into different forms, based on the dorsal markings. As pointed out by Poynton and Broadley (1987), there is considerable overlap in these color forms between and within populations. Due to the large distributional range of this species from Senegal to South Africa ( Channing and Rödel 2019), spanning many different habitats and biomes, cryptic species are expected, and this species needs a broad-scale phylogeographic study.

Figures

Map 20. Distribution of Kassina senegalensis in Angola.

Fig. 23. Adult female Kassina senegalensis from Culua River source. Photo by Werner Conradie.