Hyperolius bocagei Steindachner 1867
Creators: name: Conradie, Werner
name: Keates, Chad
name: Verburgt, Luke
name: Baptista, Ninda L.
name: Harvey, James
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Amphibia
Anura
Hyperoliidae
Hyperolius
Hyperolius bocagei

description: Hyperolius aff. bocagei Steindachner, 1867
Bocage’s Reed Frog (Figs. 19–21; Map 18)
Material (74 specimens, 10 tadpole lots): PEM A12423, Cunde waterfall, -13.77390° 18.75520°, 1,287 m asl; PEM A12455–60, PEM A14085–6 (tadpoles) Cuanavale River source lake, -13.08537° 18.89098°, 1,340 m asl; PEM A12489, PEM A14098 (tadpoles), INBAC (no number), Dala River, near Samanunga village, -12.93169° 18.81458°, 1,363 m asl; PEM A12508–12, river crossing before Samboano village, -12.30700° 18.62350°, 1,397 m asl; PEM A12543–52, INBAC (no number x2), Cuito River source lake, -12.68935° 18.36012°, 1,431 m asl; PEM A12592–8, Calua River source lake, 6 km SE of Cuito River source, -12.73675° 18.39310°, 1,446 m asl; PEM A12619, Stop 1: road to Cuito River source, -12.25050° 18.63730°, 1,556 m asl; PEM A12674, Camp 3, Malova Village, Mipanha River, -14.09140° 16.41476°, 1,553 m asl; PEM A12734–7, INBAC: WC-4833, INBAC (no number x2), Cuando River source, -13.00346° 19.12751°, 1,553 m asl; PEM A12788–9, INBAC: WC-4614, Quembo River, source trap 2, -13.13544° 19.04397°, 1,374 m asl; PEM A14112 (tadpoles), Cuiva River, -11.98346° 17.72841°, 1,264 m asl; PEM A12815, PEM A14125 (tadpoles), Cuiva River source, -12.66856° 18.35307°, 1,407 m asl; PEM A12857, INBAC: WC-4616; INBAC (no number x5) Quembo River source lake, -13.13624° 19.04591°, 1,411 m asl; PEM A13767–72, INBAC: WC-6979 Lungwebungu River, old oxbows, -12.58129° 18.67162°, 1,304 m asl; PEM A13800–2, PEM A13803 (tadpoles), Lake Tchanssengwe, -12.41402° 18.64417°, 1,415 m asl; PEM A14090 (tadpoles), 4 km upstream from Cuanavale River source, -13.05084° 18.89726°, 1,394 m asl; PEM A14103 (tadpoles), 4 km downstream from Cuanavale River source camp, -13.11585° 18.90246°, 1,354 m asl; PEM A14106 (tadpoles), confluence of Cuito and Calua rivers, -13.12458° 18.89989°, 1,345 m asl; PEM A14686, detour route just across bridge over Cuiva River, -12.13942° 18.39393°, 1,385 m asl; PEM A14693 (tadpoles), Lungwebungu River camp, first oxbow on right side, -12.58117° 18.67106°, 1,294 m asl; PEM A14717, en route from Samanunga village to Cuanavale River source, -12.94331° 18.81118°, 1,407 m asl; PEM A14727–8, Quembo River, oxbow near small waterfall, -13.54257° 19.29551°, 1,233 m asl; PEM A14748–9, PEM A14763–65, PEM A14778, Quembo River right side tributary (Micongo River) past village, -13.51877° 19.28487°, 1,248 m asl; PEM A14757, left side tributary (Condinde River) at Cuando River bridge, -13.60076° 19.52675° 1,219 m asl. Additional material (16 tadpole lots): SAIAB 204553 (7 tadpoles), Cuanavale River source lake, -13.08997° 18.89389°, 1,358 m asl; SAIAB 209059 (15 tadpoles), Cuanavale River near confluence, -13.12478° 18.90017°, 1,347 m asl; SAIAB 204509 (29 tadpoles), outlet from Kuembo River source lake, -13.13689° 19.03144°, 1,375 m asl; SAIAB 204564 (25 tadpoles), SAIAB 209074 (1 tadpole), Quembo River source lake, -13.13611° 19.04500°, 1,366 m asl; SAIAB 209066 (9 tadpoles), Quembo River source lake, -13.14025° 19.04822°, 1,365 m asl; SAIAB 209062 (2 tadpoles), swamp near Cuanavale River source lake camp, -13.10750° 18.86089°, 1,386 m asl; SAIAB 204465 (19 tadpoles), Cuando River source pool, -13.00383° 19.12719°, 1,350 m asl; SAIAB 209060 (2 tadpoles), stream outflow about 2.6 km downstream of source lake, -13.00317° 19.15153°, 1,331 m asl; SAIAB 204472 (13 tadpoles), Cuando River, -13.09142° 19.35850°, 1,283 m asl; SAIAB 209067 (8 tadpoles), on Cuanavale River road, -13.14190° 19.44503°, 1,301 m asl; SAIAB 209070 (10 tadpoles), pan near Cuanavale River camp, seepage, -13.10750° 18.86089°, 1,387 m asl; SAIAB 204569 (13 tadpoles), Samununga village, -12.93228° 18.81672°, 1,365 m asl; SAIAB 209063 (6 tadpoles), small stream 3 km below Cuanavale River source camp, -13.12539° 18.89914°, 1,344 m asl; SAIAB 209069 (11 tadpoles), pool in wetland on road edge, west of Munhango, -12.17806° 18.24306°, 1,370 m asl; SAIAB 209075 (18 tadpoles), Cuando River source bog, -13.00383° 19.12719°, 1,350 m asl. Description: Medium sized reed frog; rounded snout; reduced webbing; ventrum granular. Three different color forms were observed, i.e., plain light to dark green, brown, and bright red; thin dorsolateral white stripe present; small white specks on dorsal side of legs; toes and webbing red. Tadpoles with ventrum spotted and ventral blotches remain present in juveniles but fade in adults. Adult females (n = 11) varied from 16.7–21.9 (19.6) mm (largest female: PEM A12549); adult males (n = 52) varied from 14.8–21.1 (18.7) mm (largest male: PEM A12592). Habitat and natural history notes: Found at the margins of large rivers and source lakes within dense emergent wetland vegetation. Sympatric with other species of Hyperolius, mostly H. nasutus and H. parallelus. Comments: Initially we assigned these specimens to H. bocagei (NGOWP 2017), however it is generally regarded as a larger species that is associated with the viridiflavus group (see Schiøtz 1999). This new material differs in size (smaller) and webbing (less webbing) from H. bocagei (Schiøtz 1999). Phylogenetic work is currently underway to determine its taxonomic status.
description: Published as part of 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, pp. 19-56 in Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (e 325) (e 325) 17 (1) on page 36, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.12761936