Ptychadena uzungwensis (Loveridge, 1932)

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 : 47

Ptychadena uzungwensis (Loveridge, 1932)

Udzungwa Ridged Frog ( Fig. 35; Map 34)

Material (56 specimens, 7 tadpole lots): PEM A12482–3, Cuanavale River source lake, -13.08537° 18.89098°, 1,360 m asl; PEM A12493, river crossing before Samanunga village, -12.93169° 18.81458°, 1,363 m asl; PEM A12570–2, Cuito River source lake, -12.68935° 18.36012°, 1,431 m asl; PEM A12609–11, PEM A14117 (tadpoles), Calua River source, 6 km SE of Cuito River source, -12.73675° 18.39310°, 1,445 m asl; PEM A12641, Cuanavale River, -13.29236° 18.96283°, 1,314 m asl; PEM A12717–8, Lungwebungu River camp bridge crossing, -12.58347° 18.66598°, 1,304 m asl; PEM A12761–3, Cuando River Source, -13.00346° 19.12751°, 1,353 m asl; PEM A12769, Cuando River source, trap 1, -13.00393° 19.12808°, 1,351 m asl; PEM A12813–4, Cuito River source lake, -12.68727° 18.36067°, 1,424 m asl; PEM A12826, Quembo River, trap 3, -13.13073° 19.03725°, 1,453 m asl; PEM A12831–3, Culua River source, -12.73723° 18.39340°, 1,450 m asl; PEM A12838, 31 km W of Menongue, Cueli River, -14.70511° 17.38014°, 1,392 m asl; PEM A12899–900, PEM A12903–5, Quembo River source lake, -13.13624° 19.04591°, 1,366 m asl; PEM A13752– 5, Lungwebungu River campsite, -12.58319° 18.66573°, 1,284 m asl; PEM A13814, Lake Tchanssengwe, -12.41403° 18.64418°, 1,393 m asl; PEM A13816, John’s crossing before village, -12.20672° 18.06236°, 1,387 m asl; PEM A14083 (tadpoles), Longa rice paddies, Longa River, -14.56356° 18.44367°, 1,277 m asl; PEM A14084 (tadpoles), Cuanavale River source, -13.09033° 18.89396°, 1,359 m asl; PEM A14087 (tadpoles), 4 km upstream from Cuanavale River source, -13.05084° 18.89726°, 1,380 m asl; PEM A14093, (tadpoles) series of pans south of Tempué village, -13.55719° 18.85519°, 1,315 m asl; PEM A14095 (tadpoles), Dala River, near Samanunga village, -12.93169° 18.81458°, 1,363 m asl; PEM A14100 (tadpoles), 4 km downstream from Cuanavale River source camp, -13.11585° 18.90246°, 1,354 m asl; PEM A14692, Lungwebungu River camp, machamba (cultivated areas) on left side of river, -12.58276° 18.66556°, 1,295 m asl; PEM A14695, Lungwebungu River camp, right bank past first oxbow, -12.58077° 18.67585°, 1,300 m asl; PEM A14710–11, Lungwebungu River camp, -12.58439° 18.66748°, 1,297 m asl; PEM A14719, PEM A14738, Quembo River bridge camp, -13.52746° 19.28060°, 1,241 m asl; PEM A14737, Quembo River bridge camp, trap 1, -13.52801° 19.28147°, 1,236 m asl; PEM A14760, Quembo River bridge camp, trap 2, -13.52816° 19.28067°, 1,240 m asl; PEM A14817, Luio River camp floodplains, -13.19711° 20.22194°, 1,181 m asl; PEM A14875, wetland south of Lake Hundo, -15.01099° 21.63608°, 1,100 m asl. Additional specimens (2 specimens): SAIAB 204568 (2 specimens), Quembo River source lake, -13.13611° 19.04500°, 1,367 m asl. Description: Medium sized Ptychadena ; tympanum large, three-quarters the size of the eye; small inconspicuous metatarsal tubercle; large outer metatarsal tubercle; three phalanges of longest toe free of webbing; numerous irregular-sized palmar tubercles present; prominent longitudinal ridges; outer dorsolateral ridge broken anteriorly; no ventral asperites in males. Dorsum with scattered blotches, almost forming transverse bands; lower lip barred; vertebral stripe present or absent; snout distinctly marked, without pale triangle; back of thighs with large pale blotches, almost forming longitudinal stripes; light line on dorsal tibia often absent (present in PEM A12769, 12762, and 12900). Males with swollen and dark thumbs. Adult females (n = 25) varied from 27.5–43.7 (39.0) mm (largest females: PEM A12905, PEM A12831); adult males (n = 22) varied from 30.1–39.5 (35.0) mm (largest male: PEM A12611). Habitat and natural history notes: Commonly found in flooded grasslands adjacent to main rivers and source lakes. Comments: See P. porosissima account for information on sympatry between these two species.