Parker's forest climber frog

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Parker's forest climber frog
Parker's forest climber frog, male

Parker's forest climber frog, male

Systematics
Order : Frog (anura)
Subordination : Neobatrachia
Family : Long finger frogs (Arthroleptidae)
Subfamily : Leptopelinae
Genre : Forest climber frogs ( Leptopelis )
Type : Parker's forest climber frog
Scientific name
Leptopelis parkeri
Barbour & Loveridge , 1928

Parker's forest climber frog ( Leptopelis parkeri ) is a frog from the genus of the forest climber frogs ( Leptopelis ) in the family of the long finger frogs (Arthroleptidae). The species lives in the mountains of Tanzania .

features

Parker's forest climber frog is a slender frog compared to other Leptopelis species. The head-torso length is 56 mm in the females, the males remain significantly smaller with 34 to 43 mm. A distinctive feature of Parker's forest climber frog is the very large red eyes with vertical pupils. The green forest climber frog ( Leptopelis barbouri ), which is native to the same habitat, has similarly large eyes, but it differs in color from Parker's forest climber frog. Leptopelis ulugurensis is also found in the range of Parker's forest climber frog , but it has much longer legs, smooth skin and a different back color.

The back of the males is brown to olive green with an irregular pattern. This consists of a transverse banding that continues on the thighs. The flanks and parts of the limbs can be yellowish to orange in color. The females have a single colored back. Their flanks and the undersides of the limbs, as well as their fingers and toes, are light yellow in color. The throat is white in the male and orange in the female. The belly is yellowish-white.

distribution and habitat

Parker's forest climber frog is common in Tanzania in the eastern and western Usambara Mountains , the Uluguru Mountain Range, and the southern Pare and Udzungwa Mountains . The mountains are covered by tropical rainforests. The highest elevations of the western Usambara Mountains are 2280 meters above sea level. Parker's forest climber frog occurs at altitudes of 200 to 2000 meters. It prefers higher altitudes than most of the related species in the area. In the ecological niches of the dense mountain rainforests it is common in places. It is nocturnal and feeds on insects.

Way of life

The visible eardrum (tympanum) is relatively small and only half the diameter of the eye, but this enables the frogs to hear the calling of the males, which consists only of a low hum at a frequency of 1500 kHz. Parker's forest climber frog can be found along slow flowing water. The webbed toes are well developed, which allows them to move around easily in the water. However, the spawn is not deposited directly into flowing water, but in muddy hollows close to the water. The hatching tadpoles can easily reach the water and then develop freely.

Danger

Galt Parker's forest tree frog in the opinion of the IUCN as endangered in 2004, he has been as endangered (2,013 endangered classified). This is mainly due to the destruction of its habitat. Small farmers penetrate the forests, which are mostly not protected. Slash and burn, small fields are created on which cardamom and yams grow. The timber industry also contributes to the degradation of forests. The range of Parker's forest climber frog covers only around 3700 square kilometers and is highly fragmented.

Systematics and taxonomy

The species was first described in 1928 by herpetologists Thomas Barbour and Arthur Loveridge . The species name honors the British herpetologist Hampton Wildman Parker , who in 1936 also described a Leptopelis species, namely Leptopelis jordani .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Breda M. Zimkus: Leptopelis parkeri Barbour and Loveridge 1928 . African Amphibians, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  2. ↑ a b c Arne Schiøtz: Leptopelis parkeri . Species portrait from Amphibiaweb, University of California, Berkeley, CA 2020, accessed on May 21, 2020.
  3. ↑ Darrel R. Frost: Leptopelis parkeri Barbour & Loveridge, 1928. Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference, Version 6.1, American Museum of Natural History, New York 1998-2020, accessed May 20, 2020.
  4. ^ A. Channing, P. Howell: Amphibians of East Africa . Comstock books in herpetology, Ithaca 2006.
  5. ↑ EB Harper, Measey, GJ, Patrick, DA, Menegon, M., Vonesh, JR: Field Guide to Amphibians of the Eastern Arc Mountains and Coastal Forests of Tanzania and Kenya. Camerapix Publishers International, Nairobi 2010.
  6. ↑ a b Leptopelis vermiculatus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2014 Posted by: (English) IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group, 2013. Retrieved on 21 May 2020.
  7. ↑ Michele Menegon, Nike Doggart, Nisha Owen: The Nguru mountains of Tanzania, an outstanding hotspot of herpetofaunal diversity. Acta Herpetologica, 3, 2, pp. 107-127, 2008.
  8. ↑ Thomas Barbour & Arthur Loveridge : A comparative study of the herpetological faunae of the Uluguru and Usambara Mountains, Tanganyika Territory with descriptions of new species. Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, 50, pp. 87-265, Cambridge, Massachusetts 1928.

literature

  • Thomas Barbour & Arthur Loveridge: A comparative study of the herpetological faunae of the Uluguru and Usambara Mountains, Tanganyika Territory with descriptions of new species. Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, 50, pp. 87-265, Cambridge, Massachusetts 1928. (first description).
  • A. Schiøtz: Treefrogs of Africa. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt am Main 1999.

Web links

Commons : Parker's Waldsteigerfrosch  - Collection of images, videos and audio files