Hyperolius adolphi-friederici Ahl, 1931a: 116.

Tillack, Frank, Ruiter, Ronald de & Roedel, Mark-Oliver, 2021, A type catalogue of the reed frogs (Amphibia, Anura, Hyperoliidae) in the collection of the Museum fuer Naturkunde Berlin (ZMB) with comments on historical collectors and expeditions, Zoosystematics and Evolution 97 (2), pp. 407-450 : 407

Hyperolius adolphi-friederici Ahl, 1931a: 116.

Holotype.

ZMB 36114, "Rugegewald, 2000 m Höhe” [Nyungwe Forest, Cyangugu Prefecture, West Province, Rwanda], collected during the first "Deutsche Zentral-Afrika-Expedition", VIII/1907.

Present name.

Hyperolius castaneus Ahl, 1931a.

Remarks.

Drawing in Ahl (1931b: 399, fig. 274). Under the leadership of Adolf Friedrich, Duke of Mecklenburg, the first "Deutsche Zentral-Afrika-Expedition" had the goal of scientifically investigating the areas of the western branch of the East African Rift Valley. Among the expedition members who collected herpetological material were Schubotz and Grauer (meeting at Lake Kivu, see also remarks on Hyperolius callichromus ) as well as von Raven. On 29 May 1907, the expedition started in Mombasa [Kenya], led via "Port Florence" [Kisumu at the northeastern coast of Lake Victoria, Kenya] to “Bukoba” [June 1907, Bukoba Urban District, Kagera Region, Tanzania] on the western shore of Lake Victoria. From here, almost 600 expedition members headed west to “Kifumbiro” [June 1907, a German military post at the ferry over the Kagera River], and to “Rufua” [July 1907, a military post in the northern Mpororo Region, Ntungamo District, Western Region, Uganda]. From here the expedition moved south to the "Mohasi See" [July 1907; Lake Mohasi, Rwanda] and “Niansa” [August 1907] and from there in western direction to the military station “Ischangi” [August 1907; Shangi, Gafunzo, Ruhango District, Southern Province, Rwanda] at the southern tip of Lake Kivu.

Then, the caravan turned north, crossed Lake Kivu with a stop at “Kwidschwi” Island [September 1907; Idjwi (Ijwi) Island, Lake Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo] and reached “Kissenji” [September 1907; Gisenyi on the northeast shore of Lake Kivu, close to the border of Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda]. From there they went to Rutschurru [December 1907, Rutshuru, North Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo] and further north to Vitshumbi [December 1907] at the southern tip of Lake Edward. The expedition continued further along the west coast of Lake Albert to reach the Rwenzori Mountains via Kasindi [January 1908]. From Fort Beni [January to February 1908] on the western slopes of the Rwenzori Mountains the expedition went to Kassenje [March 1908] on the southwestern shore of Lake Albert. From here, the expedition turned west. Via Mawambi [April 1908] on the Ituri River and Avakubi [April 1908], it went along the left bank of the Aruwimi River to Basoko [May 1908; Tshopo Province, Democratic Republic of Congo] to the confluence with the Congo River, where the expedition ended in June 1908 ( Schubotz 1909, 1912; Bamps 1975). The extensive zoological-botanical collections made during this expedition, including nearly 3000 vertebrates, were deposited at the ZMB and the Botanical Museum in Berlin. Most of the herpetological results of the expedition were published by Nieden (1913, Amphibia) and Sternfeld (1913, Reptilia).

From 1909 to 1910 a second "Deutsche Zentral-Afrika-Expedition", also under the leadership of Adolf Friedrich, Duke of Mecklenburg, extended along a main route from Cameroon via Spanish Guinea [Equatorial Guinea], Gabon, the Congo and the Ubangi River up to Fort de Possel [Possel, Central African Republic], and from there further north to Lake Chad and back via North Cameroon to the Niger Delta. Schubotz, who accompanied this expedition, deviated along the Ubangi River eastwards, in order to follow the White Nile in southern Sudan and returned via Khartoum and Egypt to Germany ( Mecklenburg 1921).