Chiromantis rufescens (Günther, 1869)

Lobón-Rovira, Javier, Lobón-Rovira, Baptista, Ninda L, Clark, Tyron, Verburgt, Luke, Jongsma, Gregory Fm, Conradie, Werner, and, Luis Veríssimo, Vaz, Pedro & Pinto, 2025, Filling the gaps: herpetological checklist of Mayombe National Park and Cabinda Province (Angola) shed light on one of the most unexplored corners of tropical Central Africa, African Journal of Herpetology 74 (1), pp. 1-59 : 1-59

Chiromantis rufescens (Günther, 1869)

Figures 5C and 7T

Material. ANGOLA – Cabinda Province • Chimbaunde ; –5.5582, 12.4479; 139 m a.s.l.; FKH 0933 ; GenBank: PQ455718. • between Dinge and Chindende; –5.1208, 12.3667; 15 m a.s.l.; FKH 0175–76 ; GenBank: PQ455719–20. • Mayombe NP, Sanga Wanda; –4.6253, 12.4583; 221 m a.s.l.; P3.116, FKH 1260 (Tadpoles), P3.521–22; GenBank: PQ455721–24. • Mayombe NP, Vaku; –4.6323, 12.8937; 319 m a.s.l.; P2.053; GenBank: PQ455725 .

Identification. Chiromantis rufescens is the only representative of the genus in the area and can easily be distinguished from other tree frogs by having rough skin, long fingers and toes with terminal discs and extensive webbing between fingers and toes ( Channing and Rödel 2019). Chiromantis rufescens has very little genetic variation across the entire distribution range, except for the western Guinean populations, which have been suggested to represent a new taxon ( Leaché et al. 2019). Material from Cabinda Province is almost identical (≤ 1% 16S p -distance) to material from Médouneu, Gabon (GenBank: MK789356 ), Tsinguidi, Republic of the Congo (GenBank: MK789354 , KY080102 ) and Dzanga-Sangha NP, Central African Republic (GenBank: MK789330 ).

Biology and distribution. A foam-nest tree frog widely distributed in the northern rim of the Congo Basin and extending southwards to northern Angola. The species proved to be very common in the province and was found at most sites surveyed, from primary moist forest to transitional zones between forest and savannah and even highly transformed habitats. Specimens were usually found perched on branches or leaves near the ground to a few metres high, and never far from water. In Cabinda Province the species was recorded from all four ecological zones considered, from the Coastal Drier Belt to Upper Mayombe.

Testudines

Testudinidae

Figures

Figure 5. Tadpoles found in Mayombe National Park and Cabinda Province, Angola. Codes in brackets represent field numbers. A. Leptopelis aubryi (P3.545); B. Hyperolius ocellatus purpurescens (FKH 1266); C. Chiromantis rufescens (P3.200); D. Ptychadena anchietae (P3.524) from Sanga Wanda, Lower Mayombe; and E. Hylarana (Amnirana) albolabris (P3.212) from Mbundo, Lower Mayombe. Photographs by PVP.

Figure 7. Species of the families Phrynobatrachidae, Pipidae, Ptychadenidae, Ranidae and Rhacophoridae recorded from from Mayombe National Park and Cabinda Province, Angola. Codes in brackets represent field numbers. A. Phrynobatrachus auritus (P2.057) and B. (P2.033) from Vaku, Upper Mayombe, C. (P3.141) from Chimbete and D. (P3.191) from Sanga Wanda, Lower Mayombe. E. P. aff. parvulus (P2.115) from Caio Cacungo. F. Amplectant pair of P. aff. parvulus from Sanga Wanda, G. (P3.135) from Chimbete, and H. (P3.124) Mbundu, Lower Mayombe. I. Phrynobatrachus sp. (P2.196) from Miconge, Upper Mayombe. J. Xenopus (Xenopus) allofraseri (P3.121) and K. Xenopus (Xenopus) andrei (P3.533) from Sanga Wanda, Lower Mayombe. L. Xenopus (Silurana) mellotropicalis (P3.176), from Quissoki, Upper Mayombe. M. Hymenochirus feae (P3.544) from Mbundo, Lower Mayombe. N. Ptychadena anchietae (P3.107) from Sanga Wanda, Lower Mayombe. O. Ptychadena mascareniensis OUT 6 (P3.168), Lombe River, Vaku, Upper Mayombe. P. Ptychadena perreti (P2.214) from Miconge, Upper Mayombe Q. Ptychadena taenioscelis (P1.141) from Tando Zinze. R. Hylarana (Amnirana) albolabris (P3.154) from Quissoki and S. Hylarana (Amnirana) aff. lepus (P2.187) from Miconge, Upper Mayombe. T. Chiromantis rufescens (P9.072) from South of Dinge. Photographs by PVP (A–E, G–T), JLR (F).