Hyperolius parallelus Günther, 1858

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 : 34

Hyperolius parallelus Günther, 1858

Angolan Reed Frog ( Fig. 16 ; Map 15 )

Material (80 specimens, 6 tadpole lots): PEM A12436– 7, INBAC (no number), Cuchi River gorge, -14.59000° 16.90758°, 1,365 m asl; PEM A12448–54, Cuanavale River source lake, -13.08537° 18.89098°, 1,360 m asl; PEM A12488, Dala River, near Samanunga village, -12.93169° 18.81458°, 1,363 m asl; PEM A12525, Muhango village, -12.16310° 18.55430°, 1,430 m asl; PEM A12520, PEM A12538–42, INBAC (no number), Cuito River source lake, -12.68935° 18.36012°, 1,431 m asl; PEM A12586–91, PEM A12827, Calua River source lake, 6 km SE of Cuito River source, -12.73675° 18.39310°, 1,445 m asl; PEMA 12683–4, Huambo HALO training camp, -12.73726° 15.81828°, 1,665 m asl; PEM A12851–56, INBAC: WC-4626, INBAC (no number x2), Quembo River source lake, -13.13624° 19.04591°, 1,366 m asl; PEMA 13737 (tadpoles), Comba River, -12.62442° 18.65159°, 1,299 m asl; PEM A13765–6, Lungwebungu River, old oxbows, -12.58129° 18.67162°, 1,304 m asl; PEM A13794–8, PEM A13799 (tadpoles), INBAC: WC-4555, Lake Tchanssengwe, -12.41402° 18.64418°, 1,393 m asl; PEM A14097 (tadpoles), Dala River, near Samanunga village, -12.93169° 18.18146°, 1,315 m asl; PEM A14105 (tadpoles), Confluence of Cuito and Calua rivers, -13.12458° 18.89989°, 1,345 m asl; PEM A14113 (tadpoles), Cuiva River, -11.98346° 17.72841°, 1,264 m asl; PEM A14683–4, wetland near old quarry east of Quemba, -12.16960° 18.22965°, 1,353 m asl; PEM A14698–9, wetland west of Lungwebungu River camp, -12.55855° 18.6377°, 1,308 m asl; PEM A14726, Quembo River, oxbow near small waterfall, -13.54257° 19.29551°, 1,233 m asl; PEM A14783–92, INBAC: WC-7012, INBAC: WC-7008, INBAC: WC-7014, Luio River camp floodplains, -13.19711° 20.22194°, 1,181 m asl; PEM A14834–43, INBAC: WC-6928, INBAC: WC-6928, Lake Hundo, -14.97431° 21.62966°, 1,100 m asl; PEM A14883–5, PEM A14886 (tadpoles), INBAC: WC-7083, Luvu River camp, -13.712° 21.83538°, 1,082 m asl; INBAC (no number), Cuiva River bridge on EN250, -11.98345° 17.72367°, 1,267 m asl. Additional material (1 specimen, 14 tadpole lots): SAIAB 204515 (9 tadpoles), below the outlet of the Cuanavale River source lake, -13.09364° 18.89597°, 1,357 m asl; SAIAB 209030 (10 tadpoles), small bridge on road to Cuanavale River source, -12.30714° 18.62333°, 1,399 m asl; SAIAB 204563 (5 tadpoles), SAIAB 204566 (1 tadpole), Quembo River source lake, -13.13611° 19.04500°, 1,367 m asl; SAIAB 209025 (1 tadpole), Quembo River source lake outlet, -13.14025° 19.04822°, 1,365 m asl; SAIAB 209027 (1 tadpole), Cunde waterfall, -13.77364° 18.75514°, 1,287 m asl; SAIAB 209065 (8 tadpoles), swamp near Cuanavale River source, -13.10750° 18.86089°, 1,386 m asl; SAIAB 209085 (1 specimen), Cuanavale River source lake, -13.08997° 18.89561°, 1,358 m asl; SAIAB 204471 (16 tadpoles), frog pan 30 km below Cuando River source camp, -13.06831° 19.34369°, 1,297 m asl; SAIAB 209024 (1 tadpole), Samununga village, -12.93228° 18.81672°, 1,364 m asl; SAIAB 209029 (3 tadpoles), south west of Cambuta on main track, -13.44678° 19.96403°, 1,229 m asl; SAIAB 209028 (4 tadpoles), Cueve River source, peat bog source, -12.66949° 18.35203°, 1,420 m asl; SAIAB 209034 (5 tadpoles), Calua River lagoon, -12.73600° 18.39394°, 1,448 m asl; SAIAB 208959 (7 tadpoles), Cuanavale River source lake outlet, -13.09414° 18.89612°, 1,357 m asl; SAIAB 209031 (6 tadpoles), Cuanavale River bog above lake, -13.08575° 18.89215°, 1,356 m asl; SAIAB 209035 (7 tadpoles), Cuvango River - Power station camp, -14.38720° 16.28760°, 1,456 m asl. Description: Large reed frog. Dorsal coloration varied from finely vermiculated to boldly patterned; base color mostly orange to brick red with irregular black-edged white-cream markings that were often fused to form irregular stripes, the centers of these markings exhibited a small red or yellow spot or formed a thin line; feet and webbing red; ventrum white. Adult females (n = 24) varied from 26.8–37.2 (32.2) mm (largest female: PEM A14789); adult males (n = 52) varied from 22.8– 34.7 (29.2) mm (largest male: PEM A12542). Habitat and natural history notes: All specimens were found around larger water bodies. Males started calling in the early evening, high up in trees around the water bodies, and slowly moved to the water edge during the evening. Conradie et al. (2021) recorded predation of this species by the following species of snakes: Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia , Philothamnus ornatus , Philothamnus semivariegatus , and Kladirostratus acutus . Comments: This species was by far the most common frog from all major waterbodies surveyed. As in the larger viridiflavus group, many color variations have been described in the parallelus subgroup (see Channing 2022). The material from this study conforms to the color pattern recorded for Hyperolius angolensis Steindachner, 1867 , which is now a synonym of H. parallelus .

Figures

Map 15. Distribution of Hyperolius parallelus in Angola.

Fig. 16. Adult male Hyperolius parallelus from Cuanavale River source. Photo by Werner Conradie.