Hyperolius spinigularis
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| Hyperolius spinigularis | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Hyperoliidae |
| Genus: | Hyperolius |
| Species: | H. spinigularis |
| Binomial name | |
| Hyperolius spinigularis Stevens, 1971[2] | |
Hyperolius spinigularis is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae.[1][3][4][5] It is found in the Mulanje Massif in southern Malawi and the Namuli Massif in adjacent Mozambique.[1][3] Records from Tanzania refers to other species.[3] Males of this species have characteristic small spines during the breeding season.[2][4][5] Its common names are spiny-throated reed frog, spiny reed frog, and Mulanje reed frog.[3][4]
Hyperolius spinigularis was described in 1971 based on the type series collected in Malawi, although it was already then noted that "a rather similar frog" had been collected in Tanzania.[2] Subsequent research established a broad distribution in Tanzania, Malawi, and Mozambique, although there were doubts whether all populations represented just a single species. Molecular genetic analyses published in 2015 confirmed that the Tanzanian populations represented species different from H. spinigularis and resulted in restricting this species to Malawi and Mozambique. The new species, previously confused with H. spinigularis, are Hyperolius burgessi, Hyperolius davenporti, and Hyperolius ukwiva.[3]
Description
Males measure 19–23 mm (0.75–0.91 in) and females 24–31 mm (0.94–1.22 in) in snout–vent length. In addition to sexual dimorphism in size, males can be distinguished during the breeding season by the presence of prominent black asperities (spines) that cover the throat, mentum, abdomen, and undersurfaces of the hind limbs. The head is broad and has protruding eyes; the pupil is horizontally elliptic. All females and most males are pale apple-green and dorsally covered with minute brown chromatophores that under certain light conditions can almost mask the ground colouration. The ventrum is a pale translucent blue-green, becoming silvery white over the abdomen and an opaque blue-green on the gular disc. The hands and feet are pale yellow. However, a small fraction of males have red-brown ground coloration on both the dorsum and ventrum, with the extremities of the limbs being pale red. Also the pale cream or white dorsal patterning is variable but unrelated to sex. A white cantho-dorso-lateral band is the most common type, while some individuals have only an irregular and often broken dorso-lateral band, as well as a sub-triangular frontal patch.[2]
Newly metamorphosed froglets measure 12.7–14.1 mm (0.50–0.56 in) SVL.[2]