Werneria preussi Matschie 1893
Creators: name: Rödel, Mark-Oliver
name: Schmitz, Andreas
name: Pauwels, Olivier S. G.
name: Böhme, Wolfgang
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2004
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Amphibia
Anura
Bufonidae
Werneria
Werneria preussi

description: Werneria preussi (Matschie, 1893)
Figs. 1 f, 2f, 3f, 4f, 4g, 8a
Type series.— ZMB (originally 60 specimens), BM 1935.2.8.3, MCZ 10296, Buëa, Mt. Cameroon, Cameroon, 950 m (type series not seen).
Topotypic material examined.— SMF 24157–24161, 24180–24184, two males, five females, three juveniles, Buëa, below waterfall, Cameroon, 30.X.–11.XI.1937, R. Mertens; ZFMK 14904, female, Buëa waterfall, Cameroon, 20.–22.III. 1974, W. Böhme & W. Hartig; MHNG 918.49, male, MHNG 1019.85–88, one male, two females, one juvenile, Buëa, waterfall, Cameroon, R. Mertens; MHNG 1453.26–33, seven juveniles and tadpoles, Buëa, waterfall, Cameroon, J.­L. Perret.
Additional material examined.— SMNS 1814.1–2, one male, one female, Mueli, 500 m a.s.l., Mt. Cameroon, Cameroon, 1958, M. Eisentraut; ZFMK 15704, male, Fako, Nyasoso, 900–1,100 m a.s.l., Mt. Kupe, Cameroon, 8.IV.1954, M. Eisentraut; ZFMK 75580 (cf. preussi), male, Nyasoso, 1,100 m a.s.l., Mt. Kupe, Cameroon, 18.–21.I.2000, A. Schmitz.
Diagnosis.— A large Werneria with an obliquely truncate snout; juveniles and males with clear and broad dorsolateral lines of variable colour, large females with uniform back; venter uniform dark or with only small clear spots; juveniles with blackish bars on hind legs; toes moderately webbed; reproducing males with nuptial pads on thumb and second finger, spinulae on the body.
Description.— A medium sized toad with an obliquely truncate snout (Fig. 4 f–g); males reach 30.2–43.5 mm SVL, females 43.5–49.2 mm; males and females with or without small warts at the angle of the mouth; back in males and younger females with brickred, yellowish or smoky­grey dorsolateral bands, that stretch from the eyelid to the groin area; dorsolateral bands broad (up to 2 mm) but not well delimitated against the back or flanks (Fig. 1 f); adult females seem to have a uniform dark brown dorsum (Fig. 8a); flanks brown or black; lower flanks in some females with clear spots, venter in both sexes dark brown to almost black (Fig. 2 f); males with numerous small whitish or yellowish spots; adult males may also show a few large clear spots on the posterior venter; blackish transversal bars on thighs, lower leg and foot are visible in juveniles, but vanish in adults; webbing of hind legs moderate, more extensive in males than in females (Fig. 3 f); males in breeding condition have nuptial pads on thumb and second finger and spinulae on the body (Fig. 4 g); colour of nuptial pads almost indistinct from rest of hand; females with more or less smooth venter.
Natural history.— W. preussi exclusively lives in creeks at altitudes of 700–1,200 m a.s.l. It prefers fast flowing creeks with many stones and few plants. At the type locality it appears to be the most abundant anuran. The toads live exclusively in and around water, and try to escape into water when disturbed. Preferred daytime retreats are cavities below stones in or beside water. They are active at night, and then can be found climbing on rocks. Reported prey mostly consisted of beetles (Mertens 1938b, 1940). The toads hide during the dry season (Mertens 1938b, 1940). Amiet (1972) suppose that the lack of streams at high elevations on Mt. Cameroon may impose an altitudinal limit on the species. Mertens (1938b) also describes and figures (plate 2 fig. 5) the tadpole of this species, collected during February. The tadpole is dorsoventrally flattened, has a broad head, narrow rounded tail, eyes and nostrils positioned dorsally, median vent tube, and sinistral spiraculum. The mouth is sucker like and has a typical bufonid tooth row formula of 2 / 3 (Amiet 1989; Lamotte and Lescure 1989). Dorsal colour is described as a clear greyish brown with two broad black transverse bars, one on head, the other on back. The ventrum is uniform clear grey, the tail bears no pattern. One tadpole with 26.5 mm total length had fully developed hind legs. Freshly transformed toads measure 9.2–9.8 mm (Mertens 1938b). According to Boulenger (1906) and Perret and Amiet (1971) this species lacks a vocal sac and is mute.
Distribution: W. preussi was described and most often reported from Buëa, southeast flank of Mt. Cameroon, about 1,170 m a.s.l. (e.g. Boulenger 1906; Nieden 1908; Perret 1966, Fig. 9). Some W. preussi records from other localities were based on other Werneria species (Perret 1966, W. tandyi in part; Perret and Amiet 1971, W. mertensiana in part). A record from Bismarckburg in Togo (Werner 1898) is thought to be an error (Boulenger 1906; Mertens 1938b; Perret 1966; Amiet 1972). However, Frost (2002) still lists "highlands of west­central Togo and southwestern Cameroon " as the range of this species (see below). According to Amiet (1972; pers. comm.) and Gartshore (1984), W. preussi is known from Buëa, Mt. Etinde and the Tolé Tea Estate on the lower slopes of Mt. Cameroon. We herein add a specimen from Mt. Kupe, collected by M. Eisentraut at 900 m (ZFMK 15704, see also Böhme & Schneider 1987). Another record from this locality was originally identified as Arthroleptis bivittatus by Mertens (1968) and later assigned to W. mertensiana (Böhme 1975). A more recently collected specimen, ZFMK 75580, from Mt. Kupe was not clearly assignable but also appeared to be most likely W. preussi. A wider range of W. preussi within the Cameroonian highlands thus seems possible (Fig. 5).
Taxonomic remarks.— This toad was described by Matschie (1893) as Bufo preussi. Synonyms of this species include Stenoglossa fulva Andersson, 1903 (Mertens 1938b, 1940; Amiet 1972), and Atelopus africanus Werner, 1898 (Nieden 1923; Lötters 1996). Lötters (1996) re­examined one of the Atelopus africanus syntypes from Bismarckburg, Togo and confirmed that it is conspecific with W. preussi. Although it is possible that the Togolese locality is erroneous, it would be worthwhile checking the type locality of A. africanus again.
description: Published as part of Rödel, Mark-Oliver, Schmitz, Andreas, Pauwels, Olivier S. G. & Böhme, Wolfgang, 2004, Revision of the genus Werneria Poche, 1903, including the descriptions of two new species from Cameroon and Gabon (Amphibia: Anura: Bufonidae), pp. 1-28 in Zootaxa 720 on pages 12-14, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.158599