odontobatrachus is a genus of frogs in the comprising the family odontobatrachidae .

in a 2014 research project barej , rödel , loader & schmitz separated the genus from the established genus petropedetes and separated the new family from the established family petropedetidae .

odontobatrachus

› odontobatrachus arndti barej , schmitz , penner , doumbia , hirschfeld , brede , bangoura & roedel , 2015 › odontobatrachus sp . wa - 4
an odontobatrachus arndti torrent - frog from guinea . dr michael f . barej .
the new family comprises all anurans which are more closely related to odontobatrachus natator than to members of other ranoid families . current content : one genus , odontobatrachus .
odontobatrachus ziama is a mottled brown with a whitish belly and what appears to be lateral ridges on the side .
it wasn’t until researchers analyzed the molecular data , morphological characteristics and genetics of more than 150 adult specimens did they realize it was highly unlikely that they all fit into one species . they found high molecular variation between the specimens , which led them to describe four more species . these are : odontobatrachus ziama , odontobatrachus smithi , odontobatrachus fouta and odontobatrachus arndti . in the study , published in the open - access journal zoosystematics and evolution , the family odontobatrachidae has been raised to five species .
mark - oliver rödel 2004 . odontobatrachus natator . the iucn red list of threatened species 2004 : e . t58080a11715528 . urltoken
roedel m ( 2014 ) . life in the spray zone - overlooked diversity in west african torrent - frogs ( anura , odontobatrachidae , odontobatrachus ) .
in addition to the already known odontobatrachus natator , the new species include odontobatrachus arndti , o . fouta , o . smithi , o . ziama . the frogs occur in western upper guinea and sierra leone , residing in the forest zone . these frogs are considered to be medium to large size frogs .
odontobatrachus arndti can appear light greenish yellow with brown spots to to a mottled green and brown to beige coloration with brown spots . its belly tends to be white to yellow .
odontobatrachus smithi can appear camouflage green with knight and dark green colors in the mix as well as dark brown and greenish coloration . it also features distinct dorsal ridges averaging five to six ridges per body .
recent large - scale phylogenies [ 1 , 3 , 7 ] did not include odontobatrachus natator . in these analyses , african torrent - frogs were represented by central and east african taxa , and based on the assumption that odontobatrachus natator is a petropedetid , the species has been placed in the family petropedetidae . scott [ 23 ] included o . natator in her simultaneous analyses of molecular and morphological data . however , only morphological data of o . natator was available to scott [ 23 ] , and this dataset did not place the west african taxon outside the genus petropedetes . in contrast , our molecular results clearly deviate from this conclusion with west african torrent - frogs odontobatrachus natator placed outside the family petropedetidae . the distinctiveness of odontobatrachus natator is also supported by various osteological characters ( see additional file 1 : 2 . 2 ) .
odontobatrachus natator — barej , rödel , loader , menegon , gonwouo , penner , gvoždík , günther , bell , nagel , and schmitz , 2014 , mol . phylogenet . evol . , 71 : 269 .
“our insights on the ecology of adult odontobatrachus are scarce . . . while streams with rapids in primary forests are the preferred habitat of torrent - frogs , detailed ecological studies are missing , ” researchers note in the study .
one species of torrent frog discovered in west africa of the genus odontobatrachus , and previously thought the only species in the genus , is actually five distinct frogs , according to new research published in the journal pensoft zoosystematics and evolution .
odontobatrachus fouta appears dark brownish to greenish with dark blotches on its side . it also sports a reticulated pattern on its belly . the female is browner than the male , while the male appears more green with a hint of yellow splotches .
based on molecular and morphological distinctiveness , the west african torrent - frog odontobatrachus natator is allocated to a newly described anuran family . the discovery of an endemic vertebrate family in west africa highlights the upper guinean forests as an outstanding , but highly endangered biodiversity hotspot .
odontobatrachus natator’s coloration differs slightly based on its locality . females can be a light green and brown with a tinge of light yellow while males can be a more mottled greenish brown . in other locality’s the map ; e can be a dark greenish brown in coloration .
ct - scan of odontobatrachus skull . computer tomographic scan in lateral view of odontobatrachus natator skull ( zmb 78203 ) a : lateral view of left side , lower jaw virtually rotated to open the mouth , red square defines close - up shown in b ; scale bar = 1 . 5 mm ; b : close up of the anterior part of the maxilla ; scale bar = 0 . 5 mm . the images highlighting the tusk - like odontoids on the lower mandible as well as curved and pointed pre - and maxillary teeth ; skull virtually isolated from the remaining skeleton .
odontobatrachus barej , rödel , loader , schmitz in barej , rödel , loader , menegon , gonwouo , penner , gvoždík , günther , bell , nagel , and schmitz , 2014 , mol . phylogenet . evol . , 71 : 269 . type species : petropedetes natator boulenger , 1905 , by original designation .
the aforementioned lone species is odontobatrachus natator is easy to differentiate from other west african torrent frogs , but difficult to separate from its closest relatives . but new molecular analysis by researchers in germany revealed distinguishing morphological characteristics that necessitated the new species designation . the single species is a family , a family with species variation .
at present a single species is described , odontobatrachus natator ( boulenger , 1905 ) . however , barej et al . [ 14 ] already recognized a higher diversity in this lineage and a more detailed taxonomic analysis of the family throughout the distribution range in the upper guinea forests is in preparation ( m . f . barej et al . unpubl . data ) .
the first endemic west african vertebrate family – a new anuran family highlighting the uniqueness of the upper guinean biodiversity hotspot [ 1 . molecular analyses ( genbank numbers , molecular dating , topology test ) ; 2 . osteological analyses ( odontobatrachus osteology , petropedetidae vs . odontobatrachidae fam . nov . ) ; 3 . amphibian diversity in african realms 4 . references of additional file ] .
correct species identification is crucial in different fields of biology , and in conservation . the endemic west african frog family odontobatrachidae currently contains a single described species , odontobatrachus natator . from western guinea to western côte d ' ivoire it inhabits forests around waterfalls or cascades . based on more than 130 specimens from 78 localities , covering the entire distribution , we investigated the molecular diversity of these frogs .
correct species identification is crucial in different fields of biology , and in conservation . the endemic west african frog family odontobatrachidae currently contains a single described species , odontobatrachus natator . from western guinea to western côte d ' ivoire it inhabits forests around waterfalls or cascades . based on more than 130 specimens from 78 localities , covering the entire distribution , we investigated the molecular diversity of these frogs .
it was only last year that researchers first discovered a new family of west african frogs – the odontobatrachidae . these tooth - frogs , found in torrents ( fast flowing streams ) , get their name from their curved upper teeth and their long teeth on the bottom jaw . since their initial discovery , these tooth - frogs were regarded as a single species , known as odontobatrachus natator , but molecular analysis has revealed that’s not the case . researchers have found there are four additional species within this group .
geographical events that may support a historical scenario of long - term isolation of the west african area , as suggested by odontobatrachus , are known from the literature . from the late jurassic / early cretaceous onwards rifting of the proto - south atlantic started and this was accompanied with development of rift systems in west and central africa [ 26 ] . at the same time , climate warming ( peaking in the upper cretaceous ) led to transgressions entering local basins [ 27 ] and as large parts of the continental shelf were flooded , only temporary land bridges connected the west african craton with central africa [ 28 ] . at the same time vegetation changed and closed canopy forests arose [ 29 - 32 ] . it can be therefore speculated that the west african torrent - frogs might have evolved in a geographically isolated area during ongoing vegetation changes , explaining the restricted distribution of this lineage . other scenarios for example , extinction in other biogeographic regions of a formerly more widespread odontobatrachus , with remaining extant lineages in west africa , are possible but seem less likely .
the genetic diversity within odontobatrachus natator was examined on the basis of the mitochondrial genes 16s , 12s and cytb ( approach 1 see below ) or the concatenated alignment including all mitochondrial and nuclear genes with the exception of the position 2 of the sia codons , since this position turned out to be nearly invariable for the dataset ( approach 2 ) . while approach 1 considers overlaps between intra - and interspecific variation , approach 2 seeks to identify groupings on the species - level versus population level resulting from tree shape and branch lengths of a given tree .
our molecular time scale estimates the split of odontobatrachus in the cretaceous ( 90 . 1 ma ; confidence interval : 84 . 2 - 97 . 1 ma ; see additional file 1 : 1 . 2 ) . the dates in our timescale are also temporally comparable with other major splits within the epifamily ranoidae that are recognized at the family level rank in anuran classification [ 24 , 25 ] . although , there is a lack of resolution in the basal nodes among african and asian ranids our dating results supports the high distinctiveness of the west african torrent - frogs .
species description : barej mf , schmitz a , penner j , doumbia j , sandberger - loua l , hirschfeld m , brede c , emmrich m , kouame n ' g , hillers a , gonwouo nl , nopper j , adeba pj , bangoura ma , gage c , anderson g , roedel m - o 2015 life in the spray zone - - overlooked diversity in west african torrent - frogs ( anura , odontobatrachus ) . zoosyst . evol 91 : 115 - 149 . authors of species : barej , schmitz , penner , doumbia , brede , hillers , roedel .
phylogeny of ranoid frogs . phylogeny of ranoid frogs based on mitochondrial and nuclear data . numbers along branches indicate bootstrap values as obtained using raxml 7 . 0 . 4 and bayesian posterior probabilities . asterisks point to maximum support under both methods ( ml : 100 / pp : 1 . 00 ) . colour codes reflect distinct lineages of african torrent - frogs petropedetidae ( green = petropedetes , central africa ; red = arthroleptides , east africa ; yellow = ericabatrachus , ethiopia ) and west african torrent - frogs odontobatrachidae fam . nov . ( turquoise = odontobatrachus , west africa ) .
species description : barej mf , schmitz a , penner j , doumbia j , sandberger - loua l , hirschfeld m , brede c , emmrich m , kouame n ' g , hillers a , gonwouo nl , nopper j , adeba pj , bangoura ma , gage c , anderson g , roedel m - o 2015 life in the spray zone - - overlooked diversity in west african torrent - frogs ( anura , odontobatrachus ) . zoosyst . evol 91 : 115 - 149 . authors of species : barej , schmitz , penner , doumbia , sandberger - loua , emmerich , adeba , bangoura , gage , anderson , roedel .
species description : barej mf , schmitz a , penner j , doumbia j , sandberger - loua l , hirschfeld m , brede c , emmrich m , kouame n ' g , hillers a , gonwouo nl , nopper j , adeba pj , bangoura ma , gage c , anderson g , roedel m - o 2015 life in the spray zone - - overlooked diversity in west african torrent - frogs ( anura , odontobatrachus ) . zoosyst . evol 91 : 115 - 149 . authors of species : barej , schmitz , penner , doumbia , sandberger - loua , hirschfeld , brede , emmerich , kouame , gonwouo , nopper , adeba , bangoura , gage , anderson , roedel .
environmental niche modelling ( enm ) maps of genetically confirmed records in the genus odontobatrachus . increasing intensity in colouration represents the geographical extent of three different models , predicting the potential distribution ( light colour = maximum ; normal colour = mean ; dark colour = minimum ; niche parameters see table ) . enms refer to potential distribution of : a ) odontobatrachidae ( otucomb : natator + otu1 - 4 ; light grey to black ) ; b ) otu natator ( light blue to intensive blue ) ; c ) otu1 ( light red to intensive red ) ; d ) otu2 ( light yellow to intensive yellow ) ; e ) otu3 ( light green to intensive green ) ; f ) otu4 ( light orange to intensive orange ) ; sampled localities of each otu are marked in black .
our analyses included mitochondrial and nuclear genes , with a concatenated alignment of 3527 base pairs . we detected high level of genetic differentiation with five distinct lineages or operational taxonomic units ( otus ) . these otus were also identified by two different species delimitation approaches , generalized mixed yule coalescent ( gmyc ) and cluster algorithm . all otus occur in parapatry in the upper guinean forests . one otu , assigned to the “true” odontobatrachus natator , covers the largest distribution , ranging from the border region of western sierra leone - guinea to eastern liberia . two otus are restricted to western guinea ( fouta djallon and foothills ) , while two others occur in eastern guinea and the border region of guinea - liberia - côte d ' ivoire . the otu representing o . natator consists of two divergent subclades : one restricted to the freetown peninsula ( sierra leone ) and the other covering all populations further inland . environmental niche models indicated that the restricted freetown peninsula population is separated by unsuitable habitat from remaining populations .
our analyses included mitochondrial and nuclear genes , with a concatenated alignment of 3527 base pairs . we detected high level of genetic differentiation with five distinct lineages or operational taxonomic units ( otus ) . these otus were also identified by two different species delimitation approaches , generalized mixed yule coalescent ( gmyc ) and cluster algorithm . all otus occur in parapatry in the upper guinean forests . one otu , assigned to the
true
odontobatrachus natator , covers the largest distribution , ranging from the border region of western sierra leone - guinea to eastern liberia . two otus are restricted to western guinea ( fouta djallon and foothills ) , while two others occur in eastern guinea and the border region of guinea - liberia - côte d ' ivoire . the otu representing o . natator consists of two divergent subclades : one restricted to the freetown peninsula ( sierra leone ) and the other covering all populations further inland . environmental niche models indicated that the restricted freetown peninsula population is separated by unsuitable habitat from remaining populations .
trees and uncorrected p - distances of odontobatrachus . ( a ) tree resulting from partitioned bayes and ml analyses of mitochondrial genes 16s , 12s , cytb and nuclear genes rag1 , sia and bdnf ( outgroups not shown ) . ( b ) species tree from mitochondrial dna data from the bayesian inference of species trees ( starbeast ) . support values for ( a ) and ( b ) are provided as bayesian posterior probabilities ( above branch ; pp : * = 1 . 00 ; 0 . 95 ≥ ▼ ≥ 0 . 99 ) and boostrap support values ( below branch ; bs : * = 100 % ; 90 ≥ ♦ ≥ 99 ; 80 ≥ ● ≥ 89 ; 70 ≥ ○ ≥ 79 ) . ( c ) mean uncorrected 16s p - distances between the five otus ( rectangles ) and maximum p - distances within each otu ( circles ) . subclades in natator refer to the freetown peninsula , sierra leone ( fp , light blue ) and remaining natator population further inland ( il , dark blue ) . remark : within p - distances in natator - subclades possess distinctly lower values than the whole otu natator . minimum , maximum , mean values and standard deviation of p - distances between and within otus are provided in tables and .
in africa morphologically very similar frogs live along fast flowing rainforest rivers and at waterfalls , the torrent frogs . while studying the phylogeny of these frogs , scientists from the berlin natural history museum and their colleagues from switzerland came across a scientific sensation . the west african species apparently were not closer related to the other african species . in fact they represent a family already separated from other frog groups since the cretaceous , the time when dinosaurs dominated life on earth .
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j . l . amiet ( pers . comm . ) and perret ( 1984 ) suggest that this species does not belong in the genus petropedetes .
justification : listed as near threatened since the species depends on streams in rainforest , and so its area of occupancy is probably not much greater than 2 , 000 km2 , and the extent and quality of its habitat is declining , thus making the species close to qualifying for vulnerable .
this species occurs in the hilly parts of west africa in sierra leone , liberia , guinea , and côte d’ivoire , from near sea level up to 1 , 400m asl .
although it is patchily distributed , it is very abundant where it occurs , for example on the freetown peninsula in sierra leone .
it is found only in forested hilly country , and lives in or near water , breeding in fast - flowing streams . the eggs are laid on land , and the larvae attach themselves by means of suckers to rocks in waterfalls and rapids .
it is presumably threatened by the loss of forest habitat due to agricultural development , logging and expanding human settlements . in some places it is also adversely affected by mining activities , for example on the simandou range , and on mount nimba .
it occurs in a few protected areas , including mont sangbe national park in côte d’ivoire .
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j . l . amiet ( in rödel , 2004 ) and perret ( 1984 ) suggest that this species does not belong in the genus petropedetes .
this species occurs in the hilly parts of west africa in sierra leone , liberia , guinea , and côte d’ivoire ( rödel , 2004 ) .
holotype from measured 55 mm from snout to vent ( boulenger , 1905 ) .
it is found only in forested hilly country ( near sea level up to 1 , 400m asl . ) and lives in or near water ( rödel , 2004 ) .
although it is patchily distributed , it is very abundant where it occurs , for example on the freetown peninsula in sierra leone ( rödel , 2004 ) .
the frog is a powerful swimmer and jumper , and clings to rocks , roots of trees , by means of its digital disks ( boulenger , 1905 ) .
it breeds in fast - flowing streams . the eggs are laid on land , and the larvae attach themselves by means of suckers to rocks in waterfalls and rapids ( rödel , 2004 ) .
the iucn red list ( 2009 ) categorizes this species as near threatened since the species depends on streams in rainforest , and so its area of occupancy is probably not much greater than 2 , 000 km 2 , and the extent and quality of its habitat is declining , thus making the species close to qualifying for vulnerable ( rödel , 2004 ) .
it is presumably threatened by the loss of forest habitat due to agricultural development , logging and expanding human settlements . in some places it is also adversely affected by mining activities , for example on the simandou range , and on mount nimba ( rödel , 2004 ) .
it occurs in a few protected areas , including mont sangbe national park in côte d’ivoire ( rödel , 2004 ) .
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petropedetes natator boulenger , 1905 , ann . mag . nat . hist . , ser . 7 , 15 : 281 . syntypes : bmnh . type locality :
sierra leone
.
sierra leone water frog ( frank and ramus , 1995 , compl . guide scient . common names amph . rept . world : 103 ) .
high - gradient streams in the hilly forested parts of west africa in sierra leone , liberia , and guinea .
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high - gradient streams in the hilly forested parts of west africa in sierra leone , northern liberia , southern guinea , and western ivory coast , 0 - 1400 m elevation .
removed from petropedetes ( petropedetidae ) by reason of being phylogenetically removed from that clade , but of uncertain position , by barej , rödel , loader , menegon , gonwouo , penner , gvoždík , günther , bell , nagel , and schmitz , 2014 , mol . phylogenet . evol . , 71 : 261–273 . subsequently placed in its own family , odontobatrachidae by barej , schmitz , günther , loader , mahlow , and rödel , 2014 , frontiers zool . , 11 ( 8 ) : 10 .
odontobatrachidae are endemic to west africa and the upper guinea region . while it’s easy to distinguish the odontobatrachidae family from other west african frogs in torrents , the species within odontobatrachidae are practically identical . the adult frogs have a medium to large body length , adorable heart - shaped toe tips and a rough dorsal skin texture . tadpoles have sucker - like mouthparts and are well adapted to life in torrents .
researchers point out in the study that “naming does not mean knowing a species , ” and discovering these new species is only a first step in ensuring their conservation . studies like these , which describe new species , is a “baseline” for further research that go on to unpick their ecology and behavior .
due to ongoing habitat loss , researchers call for all five species to be categorized as “endangered” on the international union for conservation of nature list of threatened species . only some of the species – o . natator , o . ziama and o . arndti – are found in protected areas like national parks and biosphere reserves , which makes the others even more vulnerable . urgent conservation efforts are needed as researchers fear that all “west african torrent - frog species are at risk of becoming extinct . ”
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scientists conducted research of 150 adult frogs at the molecular level and combined that with biogeographic separation analysis to conclude the frog is actually five operational taxonomic units , or separate species , which resulted in a species - complex .
the scientists who worked to describe these new species : michael f . barej , andreas schmitz , johannes penner , joseph doumbia , laura sandberger - loua , mareike hirschfeld , christian brede , mike emmrich , n’goran germain kouamé , annika hillers , nono legrand gonwouo , joachim nopper , patrick joel adeba , mohamed alhassane bangoura , ceri gage , gail anderson , mark - oliver rödel
the full paper on these new species can be found on the pensoft journal website .
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a new genus and species , ericabatrachus baleensis , is described from forested localities in the bale mountains of ethiopia . the new taxon seems most closely allied to petropedetes reichenow 1874 , from west africa , and to arthroleptides nieden 1910 , which is found in kenya and tanzania . it resembles these genera in being associated with fast - flowing forest streams and there is circumstantial evidence of a terrestrial life cycle , perhaps similar to that observed in some species of petropedetes . morphological features which are considered to justify the recognition of a new genus include the small size and distinctive habitus of the animal , significantly reduced first finger and subarticular tubercles , and a striking ventral colour pattern .
. . . ericabatrachus baleensis largen , 1991 , the sole member of its genus , is poorly known and critically endangered frog known only from the harenna forest in the bale mountains of ethiopia and , until recently , only from the original collection made in 19861234 . in his description of the genus and species , largen [ 5 ] noted that he intended but had not yet managed to study comparative osteology , which might have provided compelling insights into the evolutionary affinities of ericabatrachus . instead , while noting that ericabatrachus was
reminiscent of phrynobatrachus
( p . . . .
. . . uncertainty over the affinities of ericabatrachus is reflected in a period of taxonomic instability from 2005 until present ( summary in table 1 andfigure 1 ) . dubois [ 8 ] suggested an affiliation between ericabatrachus and phrynobatrachus , presumably based on the similar habitus and superficial resemblance noted by largen [ 5 ] . the same year , scott [ 9 ] published the first broad - scale analysis of ranid phylogeny based on both morphology ( predominantly osteology , including the first data for ericabatrachus ) and dna sequence data ( lacking for ericabatrachus ) . . . .
. . . subsequently , substantial changes to amphibian classification were proposed [ 6 , 10 ] on the basis of large - scale phylogenetic analyses of mostly or entirely dna sequence data , respectively . neither of these studies included ericabatrachus in their phylogenetic analysis , but ericabatrachus was alternatively classified within phrynobatrachidae , considered as likely nesting within phrynobatrachus based on largen ' s [ 5 ] comment that the taxon was
phrynobatrachus - like
[ 6 ] or classified within pyxicephalidae based on scott ' s [ 9 ] findings [ 10 ] . in summary , over the past 22 years ericabatrachus has been treated as a member of three different families . . . .
. . . however , deckert ( 1938 ) recognised differences in the pectoral girdle , which he regarded as sufficient to keep both genera . robert drewes ( in largen , 1991 ) had recommended expanding the definition of the genus petropedetes in order to include arthroleptides taxa . finally , based on combined morphological and molecular data scott ( 2005 ) allocated arthroleptides to petropedetes , given the latter genus was paraphyletic otherwise . . . .
. . . we know of no published records beyond the type series . the reproduction and life history of e . baleensis are unknown but it has been postulated to lay terrestrial eggs that possibly develop directly without a tadpole stage ( largen , 1991 ) . the presence of e . baleensis and its endemicity have been overlooked by at least some important works on the bale mountains ( e . g . . . .
. . . comparison of the stream at the type locality at the time of discovery ( 1986 ) and the recent expeditions ( 2006– 2009 ) reveals substantial habitat alteration ( plate 2 ) . the stream is no longer a swift mountain torrent ( largen , 1991 ) but is now a broad , boggy , muddy and relatively slowflowing waterway heavily trampled by domesticated cattle . the stream is also now used by local people to wash clothes , with one section diverted to form a leat that serves the nearby dwelling . . . .
. . . as with s . osgoodi , a . malcolmi is a cites appendix i species because it was formerly classified in nectophrynoides , even though there is ' no known utilization of this species ' ( iucn et al . , 2006 ) . the original type locality collection data are very precise : daytime , in damp grass at edge of swiftest parts of mountain torrent , into which they hopped when disturbed , surfacing to cling to the bank at the water level ( largen , 1991 ) . this locality has the name tulla negesso . . . .
description of a new torrent frog in the genus arthroleptides from tanzania ( amphibia , anura , ranida . . .
calling behavior and mating call pattern in the mascarene frog , ptychadena mascareniensis ( amphibia , . . .
evolutionary implications of gene variation in the apennine frog rana italica dubois , 1985 ( anura : r . . .
1 . forest - > 1 . 6 . forest - subtropical / tropical moist lowland suitability : suitable 1 . forest - > 1 . 9 . forest - subtropical / tropical moist montane suitability : marginal 5 . wetlands ( inland ) - > 5 . 1 . wetlands ( inland ) - permanent rivers / streams / creeks ( includes waterfalls ) suitability : suitable
1 . land / water protection - > 1 . 1 . site / area protection 2 . land / water management - > 2 . 1 . site / area management
1 . residential & commercial development - > 1 . 1 . housing & urban areas
2 . agriculture & aquaculture - > 2 . 1 . annual & perennial non - timber crops - > 2 . 1 . 1 . shifting agriculture
2 . agriculture & aquaculture - > 2 . 1 . annual & perennial non - timber crops - > 2 . 1 . 2 . small - holder farming
3 . energy production & mining - > 3 . 2 . mining & quarrying
5 . biological resource use - > 5 . 3 . logging & wood harvesting - > 5 . 3 . 5 . motivation unknown / unrecorded
1 . research - > 1 . 1 . taxonomy 1 . research - > 1 . 2 . population size , distribution & trends 1 . research - > 1 . 3 . life history & ecology 1 . research - > 1 . 5 . threats 1 . research - > 1 . 6 . actions 3 . monitoring - > 3 . 1 . population trends
iucn . 2004 . 2004 iucn red list of threatened species . available at : urltoken . ( accessed : 23 november 2004 ) .
perret , j . - l . 1984 . identification des syntypes de petropedetes obscurus ahl , 1924 ( amphibia , phrynobatrachinae ) , conserves au museum de berlin . bulletin de la societe neuchateloise des sciences naturelles : 167 - 170 .
rödel , m . - o . 2003 . the amphibians of mont sangbé national park , ivory coast . salamandra 39 : 91 - 110 .
rödel , m . - o . and bangoura , m . a . 2004 . a conservation assessment of amphibians in the forêt classée du pic de fon , simandou range , southeastern republic of guinea , with the description of a new amnirana species ( amphibia , anura , ranidae ) . tropical zoology 17 : 201 - 232 .
schiøtz , a . 1964 . a preliminary list of amphibians collected in ghana . videnskabelige meddelelser fra dansk naturhistorisk forening 127 : 1 - 17 .
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more than ten new amphibian species have been described in the last decade , and more await formal description ,
researchers said of upper guinea , a unique forest habitat in west africa .
until last year , only one tooth - frog species had been identified within the upper guinea forests of west africa , a region that stretches across parts of guinea , sierra leone , liberia , cote d ' ivoire , ghana and togo .
but a new paper suggest the lone species is actually a family , complete with speciation . in a new issue of the open - access journal zoosystematics and evolution , researchers announced the discovery of four new torrent tooth - frog species - - all highly endangered .
the saber - toothed frogs are named for their unusual jawbones which boast tusk - like appendages on the lower jay , as well as curved upper teeth . the nocturnal frogs prefer the cool , running waters of forest streams .
the team of scientists who discovered the species was led by michael f . barej , a researcher with berlin ' s humboldt - museum .
with so much rapid change in scientists understanding of these rare frogs , barej and his colleagues aren ' t taking anything for granted .
recognition and description of species is just a first step which provides the baseline for subsequent studies to gather further data on the ecology or behavior - - or simply : naming does not mean knowing a species ,
researchers wrote in their new paper on the discovery .
up until last year , upper guinea ' s torrent frogs were grouped in with the genus petropedetes , which includes a host of central african frogs . but a 2014 study found the frog warranted its own genus . now , researchers have shown the frog to be part of a diverse family of five - - albeit a family facing a range of environmental threats .
west african torrent - frog species are at risk of becoming extinct because of habitat loss in the upper guinean biodiversity hotspot , whose ' true ' biodiversity is still far from being completely known ,
scientists wrote .
researchers say they hope to continue to their work in upper guinea , as it continues to reveal an array of biological secrets .
although west africa , defined as ranging from senegal to nigeria , is regarded as one of the better known regions on the continent , more than ten new amphibian species have been described in the last decade , and more await formal description .
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scott ellsworth set
dorsolateral view of petropedetes natator
as an exemplar on
petropedetidae
.
scott ellsworth changed the thumbnail image of
dorsolateral view of petropedetes natator
.
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] . however , in the course of major phylogenetic studies two families described by frost et al . [
] . so despite some nomenclatural modifications and a single exceptional finding ( see above ) , large - scale molecular data did not make significant modifications to family level classification of anurans .
] recovered three distinct lineages , all having distinct geographic distributions . based on molecular and morphological differences these authors consequently described the new genus
, endemic to guinea , sierra leone , liberia and ivory coast . the genus description was based on a number of morphological synapomorphies and a deep molecular divergence of
was placed outside the family petropedetidae , challenging the monophyly of this family . it also could not be assigned to any of the other groups sampled in this study [
by including molecular samples of representatives of all african and asian ranoids . furthermore , using micro - tomographic scanning and staining techniques , we examine the osteological and external morphological features to compare
] ) , and the globally distributed family microhylidae . we follow the argumentation of [
with strong support in the epifamily ranoidae within the superfamily ranoidea . with the exception of the families mantellidae and petropedetidae , all included neobatrachian families containing more than one representative ( on species or genus level ) showed maximum support in bi and ml ( mantellidae : bs = 96 , pp = 1 . 00 ; petropedetidae : discussed below ) . while relationships in the brevicipitoidea + microhylidae were well resolved , basal nodes in the ranoidae remained unresolved in both analyses , forming a large polytomy with a single exception ( petropedetidae + pyxicephalidae ) . only zhang et al . [
] have shown in their mitogenomic study moderate support values for family level relationships within ranoidae . african torrent - frogs of the genera
formed a maximally supported clade ( bs = 100 , pp = 1 . 00 ) and together with the ethiopian monotypic and endemic genus
they represent the family petropedetidae ( bs = 93 , pp = 1 . 00 ) . our analyses revealed strong support for petropedetidae as the sister taxon to the family pyxicephalidae (
was positioned clearly outside the clade of pyxicephalidae + petropedetidae . a close relationship of
] , and the inclusion of a second representative of the subfamily pyxicephalinae supported this result . additional analyses with constrained topologies placing
could not be clearly assigned to any family within the ranoidae . bayesian analyses indicate a weakly supported sister relationship of
to the family dicroglossidae ( pp = 0 . 69 ) . ml analyses weakly resolved ( bs < 30 , not shown )
as sister group to the phrynobatrachidae . dicroglossidae are known from a single species in sub - saharan savannahs , otherwise being species rich on the arabian peninsula , the indian subcontinent and asia [
is a petropedetid , the species has been placed in the family petropedetidae . scott [
in her simultaneous analyses of molecular and morphological data . however , only morphological data of
in the cretaceous ( 90 . 1 ma ; confidence interval : 84 . 2 - 97 . 1 ma ; see additional file
] . although , there is a lack of resolution in the basal nodes among african and asian ranids our dating results supports the high distinctiveness of the west african torrent - frogs .
, are known from the literature . from the late jurassic / early cretaceous onwards rifting of the proto - south atlantic started and this was accompanied with development of rift systems in west and central africa [
] . it can be therefore speculated that the west african torrent - frogs might have evolved in a geographically isolated area during ongoing vegetation changes , explaining the restricted distribution of this lineage . other scenarios for example , extinction in other biogeographic regions of a formerly more widespread
with remaining extant lineages in west africa , are possible but seem less likely .
] , however , our taxon sampling was relatively complete . the relative and absolute branch lengths of
taxonomic changes , as proposed in our study , need to be carefully assessed in order to sustain stability of classifications . vences et al . [
] are : ( i ) monophyly , ( ii ) clade stability and ( iii ) phenotypic diagnosability . we demonstrate that all these aspects are applicable in the case of the west african torrent - frogs
. as ( i ) the case concerns a single genus ( with currently one described species and potentially additional taxa ) , ( ii ) recognized to be distinct by a phylogenetic approach using optimization methods with a dense taxon and genetic sampling , and ( iii ) morphological differentiation from all other families [ see below ] . a detailed differentiation between the morphologically most similar petropedetid genera is given in the additional file
) ; tusk - like odontoid on lower mandible ; zygomatic ramus longer than otic ramus .
base of omosternum convex ; medial edges of coracoids not overlapping ; posterior edge of sternum wide and weakly serrated ; metasternum short and hourglass shaped , with broad bony stylus ; clavicle thickness approximately equal along entire length .
centrum of presacral vertebra viii rather amphicoelous ; metacarpal of digit ii in breeding males not enlarged and spike - like ; shape of terminal phalanges t - to slightly y - shaped on hand and on foot .
hyoid plate wider than long ; hyale without a free flange towards jaw , hyale with a small and hooked anterior process ; hyoglossal sinus deeper than anterior border of base of anterolateral processes ; anterolateral processes t - shaped with a broad base , the posterolateral processes long , reaching up to the middle of the posteromedial processes ; distance between anterior edges of posteromedial processes less than one time of their width ; small cartilaginous bridge between the enlarged anterior ends of the posteromedial processes ; calcifications or ossifications only present in posteromedial processes .
tympanum indistinct , smaller than eye diameter ; skin granular with enlarged ridges ( roundish to elongate ) ; extensive webbing ; males with pair of external vocal sacs ; positioned ventrolaterally ; nuptial excrescences velvety in breeding males ; femoral glands present in males only .
: lateral view of left side , lower jaw virtually rotated to open the mouth , red square defines close - up shown in b ; scale bar = 1 . 5 mm ;
: close up of the anterior part of the maxilla ; scale bar = 0 . 5 mm . the images highlighting the tusk - like odontoids on the lower mandible as well as curved and pointed pre - and maxillary teeth ; skull virtually isolated from the remaining skeleton .
a combination of the above mentioned characters distinguishes the new family from remaining taxa within the superfamily ranoidea . however , a few characters are sufficient to exclude most of them ( based on [
] : osteology : maxillaries with teeth ( absent in brevicipitidae , microhylidae ) ; vomerine teeth present ( absent in micrixalidae ) ; presence of mandibular tusks ( present otherwise only in ceratobatrachidae , dicroglossidae , nyctibatrachidae , phrynobatrachidae , pyxicephalidae , ranixalidae ) ; zygomatic ramus longer than otic ramus ( shorter in mantellidae , petropedetidae ) ; crista parotica cartilaginous ( mineralized in conrauidae , dicroglossidae , pyxicephalidae ) ; terminal phalanges y - to t - shaped ( blunt or pointed in hemisotidae , dicroglossidae , curved in ptychadenidae ) ; external morphology : medium to large sized frogs reaching 65 mm snout - vent length ( < 30 mm in micrixalidae ) ; dorsal skin granular with short dorsal and dorsolateral glandular ridges ( skin smooth with dorsolateral glandular ridge in micrixalidae ) ; tympanum indistinct ( distinct in ranixalidae ) ; presence of femoral glands ( shared with mantellidae , nyctibatrachidae , petropedetidae , phrynobatrachidae , pyxicephalidae , ranixalidae ) ; absence of gular gland ( present in hyperoliidae ) ; absence of lateral line system ( present in conrauidae , nyctibatrachidae ) ; hyoid with long posterolateral process ( short or absent in arthroleptidae , hyperoliidae , mantellidae ) ; presence of nuptial pads ( absent in nyctibatrachidae ) .
the morphologically most similar family petropedetidae can be differentiated from odontobatrachidae fam . nov . by the following morphological characters : presence of tusk - like odontoids on mandible ( absent in petropedetidae ) , presence of lateral vocal sacs in males ( absent or median in petropedetidae ) . a detailed differential diagnosis to central and east african torrent frogs (
] , where frogs usually occur close to streams with strong currents and cascades or rapids .
] already recognized a higher diversity in this lineage and a more detailed taxonomic analysis of the family throughout the distribution range in the upper guinea forests is in preparation ( m . f . barej et al . unpubl . data ) .
remark : in accordance with article 8 . 5 of the international code of zoological nomenclature ( international commission on zoological nomenclature [
] ) the present publication ( lsid : urn : lsid : zoobank . org : pub : dfb71831 - 37b0 - 4292 - 8193 - 74c8045cd35b ) and nomenclatural act ( lsid : urn : lsid : zoobank . org : act : 464214aa - fb13 - 4626 - b04e - 55db0de94b2a ) have been registered in zoobank .
] . this hotspot comprises two parts , the “upper” and “lower guinea” forests . only recently the west african amphibian fauna was confirmed to be distinct from those of the central african parts of the guineo - congolian forest block [
: 3 ) . west african endemics are known from various different taxonomic groups , although diversity in many of them is still not completely understood ( e . g . bats [
] ) . so far no endemic vertebrate taxon , higher than genus level , is known for the upper guinea forests of west africa .
] , west african torrent - frogs are now assigned to a distinct family , odontobatrachidae fam . nov . , based on molecular and morphological characters . the placement of these frogs outside the petropedetidae [
] or any other ranoid family , as shown here , provides important evidence that a deep diverging endemic lineage occurs in west africa . although western africa has the lowest number of anuran genera ( 4 endemics and 27 in total ) , all biogeographical areas in africa show similar numbers of families ( east africa = 15 , west , central , south africa = 14 ; data extracted from [
] . whether the distinction of endemic families and their diversity in western and southern africa reflects something about the specific biogeographical history of these areas , or our incomplete understanding of african amphibians in general , is difficult to assess . despite this uncertainty , the description of a family with a highly restricted distribution is of biogeographical and conservation significance . conservation of genetic diversity [
] . therefore , the conservation of west african forests for amphibians is of high priority and highlights more broadly the biological importance of this area . this is particularly necessary given conservation of upper guinean forest habitats is generally poor , and forest cover is rapidly shrinking [
] and many additional species awaiting description ( rödel et al . unpubl data ) , the finding of a distinct evolutionary anuran lineage reflects how incomplete our knowledge within an apparently well - studied part of this continent really is . the extraordinary finding of a new vertebrate family ( amphibia , anura , odontobatrachidae fam . nov . ) , endemic to western africa highlights the peculiarity of the upper guinea hotspot .
] . this study demonstrates the distinctiveness of this lineage among all currently known families in the ranoidea clade . preliminary dating points to an origin of the lineage in the cretaceous , a period of high diversification of family lineages in ranoidea [
] . molecular results distinguish the lineage comprising west african torrent - frogs from all known ranoidea families . a comparison of osteological characters of this lineage with torrent - frogs from central and east africa , family petropedetidae , further supports its distinctiveness . consequently , a new family , odontobatrachidae fam . nov . , is described for west african torrent - frogs . the genus


depressaria pulcherrimella is a moth of the depressariidae family .

it is found in most of europe , except the balkan peninsula .

the wingspan is 16 – 19 mm .

adults are on wing from june to september .

the larvae between the spun leaves of pimpinella saxifraga and daucus species and spun flowers and seeds of conopodium species .

other recorded food plants include cnidium , bunium and valeriana species .

depressaria pulcherrimella

kari pihlaviita added the finnish common name
ketolattakoi
to
depressaria pulcherrimella
.
depressaria pulcherrimella ( pignut flat - body ) - norfolk micro moths - the micro moths of norfolk .
depressaria pulcherrimella §1 male ; ardnamurchan , highlands ; 08 / 07 / 2012 ; fw 8 . 2mm © chris lewis
notes : local in flower meadows and chalk grassland in britain , from kent to cornwall along the south coast and less frequently in the midlands , wales and northern england ; more frequent throughout most of scotland ; also in western ireland ( mbgbi vol 4 part 1 ) . in hampshire and on the isle of wight there are sparse records from all three vice - counties , though no recent ones from the island . wingspan 15 - 19 mm . can usually be separated from d . douglasella by the angle made by the pale fascia on the forewing which is obtusely angled in the latter and forms a right - angle in d . pulcherrimella . larva feeds within flowers and seedheads of pignut , burnet - saxifrage and wild carrot .
distributed locally throughout much of the british isles , this species has a pale buff head and thorax and a fairly rich mixture of chestnut , black and white on the forewings .
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ws : 15 - 19mm ; jun - sep ; pignut ( conopodium majus ) , wild carrot ( daucus carota ) , burnet - saxifrage ( pimpinella saxifraga ) ; local in flower meadows and chalk grassland throughout gb .
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recorded in 2 ( 3 % ) of 69 10k squares . first recorded in 1874 . last recorded in 1884 .
underlying maps using digital map data © norfolk online lepidoptera archive - nola™ 2018 . © james wheeler - n o r f o l k m o t h s 2007 - 2018 . data © nola™ 2018
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