Arthroleptis stenodactylus Pfeffer, 1893

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 : 21

Arthroleptis stenodactylus Pfeffer, 1893

Common Squeaker ( Fig. 1 ; Map 1 )

Material (43 specimens): PEM A12495, 4 km upstream from Cuanavale River source lake, -13.05084° 18.89726°, 1,395 m asl; PEM A12501–4, river crossing before Samboano village, -12.30700° 18.62350°, 1,397 m asl; PEM A12526, Munhango village, -12.16310° 18.55430°, 1,421 m asl; PEM A12527, Protea stop en route to Cuito River source, -12.30040° 18.62070°, 1,429 m asl; PEM A12528–36, INBAC: (no number x4), Cuito River source lake, -12.68935° 18.36012°, 1,431 m asl; PEM A12585, 10 km north of Cuemba village, -12.03481° 18.04869°, 1,372 m asl; PEM A13815, en route to Lungwebungu River, -12.25034 ° 18.63742 °, 1,506 m asl; PEM A12616–7, en route road to Cuito River source, -12.55152 ° 18.41434 °, 1,507 m asl; PEM A12618, en route road to Cuito River source, -12.25050° 18.63730°, 1,519 m asl; PEM A12620, drive to Cuanavale River camp from Samanunga village, -13.03803° 18.82977°, 1,623 m asl; PEM A12644, Cuanavale River source lake, -13.18067° 18.92172°, 1,340 m asl; PEM A12647, stop on road to Cuito River source, -12.50584° 18.41382°, 1,556 m asl; PEM A12648–9, camp 1 en route to Cuito River source, -12.35920° 18.56280°, 1,510 m asl; PEM A12729, Cuando River source, -13.00346° 19.12751°, 1,346 m asl; PEM A12803–4, Lake Tchanssengwe, -12.41402° 18.64418°, 1,415 m asl; PEM A12843–50, INBAC: (no number x2), Quembo River source lake, -13.13624° 19.04591°, 1,411 m asl. Additional records: P2-276 (photograph and tissue sample), wetland near old quarry east of Quemba, -12.16960° 18.22965°, 1,353 m asl. Description: Medium sized Arthroleptis ; stocky build; rounded snout; tympanum clearly visible; well-developed inner metatarsal tubercle; no webbing; toe tips not dilated. Dorsum uniformly beige to pink, with scattered white speckles; no darker hourglass pattern observed on dorsum; yellow vertebral stripe either absent (n = 23) or present (n = 12); faint dark facial mask from tip of snout to the eye, continuous to the arm; ventrum immaculate. Breeding males with dark throats; minute spines on lower back; elongated 3 rd finger, with spines on the inner side and to the tip. Adult females (n = 11) varied from 32.6–37.7 (34.6 average) mm SUL (largest female: PEM A12846); adult males (n = 4) varied from 19.5–23.6 (21.5) mm (largest male: PEM A12804). Habitat and natural history notes: All specimens were collected in miombo woodland. Gravid females were collected in October/November. Males were heard calling on overcast days and evenings after rain. In February/March, juveniles and subadults were abundant, but no adults were collected or heard calling. Comments: Historically, this species was only known from three records from eastern Angola ( Marques et al. 2018). Our new material shows that this species is more common in eastern Angola than previously recognized. This was expected as it is widespread to the east of the Zambian border ( Poynton and Broadley 1985a, 1991; Channing 2001). Additionally, these are the first confirmed records from the Okavango River basin. Studies have shown that A. stenodactylus comprises two distinct ecomorphs that occur in different habitats. One form, to which our material belongs, prefers drier savanna, while the other form is known from montane forests ( Loveridge 1953; Pickersgill 2007; Bittencourt-Silva et al. 2020).

Figures

Map 1. Distribution of Arthroleptis stenodactylus in Angola. Historical records (Marques et al. 2018) are indicated by white dots, while new records are indicated by black dots. Axis values are in degrees (°). Purple polygon – Okavango River basin, Blue polygon – Cuando River basin, Brown polygon – Zambezi River basin.

Fig. 1. Adult male Arthroleptis stenodactylus from Lungwebungu River. Photo by Werner Conradie.