Nectophryne afra Buchholz and Peters, 1875

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

Nectophryne afra Buchholz and Peters, 1875

Figure 4Q

Material. ANGOLA – Cabinda Province • Mayombe NP, Vaku; –4.6323, 12.8937; 319 m a.s.l.; FKH 0948 (froglet); GenBank: PQ455871 .

Identification. A small toad (SVL = 19–25 mm) with slender body and webbed fingers and toes. Snout short and pointed ( Channing and Rödel 2019). Two distinct clades have been recognised within N. afra , which might represent two valid taxa ( Liedtke et al. 2021). The specimen reported here differs by ∼1% (16S p -distance) from material collected from Nyanga, Gabon (GenBank: MT724587 ), which clusters with other material from Republic of the Congo and southern Cameroon ( Liedtke et al. 2021).

Biology and distribution. Nectophryne afra is an arboreal toad widely distributed in primary moist forest of the Gulf of Guinea and Congo Basin, including Bioko Island ( Channing and Rödel 2019; Sanchez-Vialas et al. 2020). The material reported here represents a southern range extension and the first country record ( Baptista 2024). The specimen was a metamorph found perched on a leaf ∼ 1.5 m high at Upper Mayombe.

Nectophryne aff. batesii

Figure 4R

Material. ANGOLA – Cabinda Province • Mayombe NP, Sanga Mongo; –4.6661, 12.4407; 146 m a.s.l.; FKH 0960 , P2.081; GenBank: PQ455872−73 • Mayombe NP, Sanga Wanda; – 4.6253, 12.4583; 221 m a.s.l.; FKH 1265 ; GenBank: PQ455874 • Mayombe NP, Mbundu; – 4.6875, 12.4981; 127 m a.s.l.; FKH 1271 ; GenBank: PQ455875. • Mayombe NP, Bata Lunhuca; –4.5981, 12.4597; 215 m a.s.l.; P4.109; GenBank: PQ455876.

Identification. A small toad (SVL = 23–25 mm) with compact body, webbed fingers and toes, and short, rounded and truncated snout ( Channing and Rödel 2019). Liedtke et al. (2021) recognised three different clades within N. batesii that might justify specific status. The material from Cabinda Province represents an additional distinctive clade which differs by a minimum of ∼3.8% (16S p -distance) when compared with material of the southern clade from Liedtke et al. (2021), which includes material from Ivindo, Gabon (GenBank: KF665313 ) and Bioko Island (GenBank: MT724579 ).

Biology and distribution. An arboreal toad widely distributed in primary lowland forest of the Gulf of Guinea and Congo Basin, including Bioko Island ( Channing and Rödel 2019; Sanchez-Vialas et al. 2020). The specimens reported here represent the southernmost records of the species, and taken together with the previous species, they add a new genus to the Angolan list. The collected individuals were recorded in Lower Mayombe between 100–250 m a.s.l. and found on top of tree or bush leaves between 1 and 3 m above the ground.

Figures

Figure 4. Species of the families Arthroleptidae, Bufonidae and Dicroglossidae recorded from Mayombe National Park and Cabinda Province, Angola. Codes in brackets represent field tissue numbers. A. Arthroleptis adelphus from Miconge, Upper Mayombe (P3.186). B. A. carquejai (P3.123) and C. A. aff. poecilonotus (P3.119) from Sanga Wanda, Lower Mayombe. D. A. sylvaticus from Miconge, Upper Mayombe (P2.194). E. Cardioglossa leucomystax from Vaku (P2.031) and from F. Miconge (P2.218), Upper Mayombe. G. Leptopelis aubryi from Mbundu, Lower Mayombe (P3.214). H. L. cf. aubryioides (P3.514), I. L. boulengeri (P3.523) and J. L. cf. calcaratus (P3.513) from Sanga Wanda, Lower Mayombe. K. L. cf. jordani (P3.163) from Lombe River, Vaku, Upper Mayombe. L. L. millsoni (P9.070) from South of Dinge. M. L. ocellatus (P3.113) from Sanga Wanda, Lower Mayombe. N. L. rufus (P2.045) from Vaku, Upper Mayombe O. Scotobleps gabonicus (P3.139) from Chimbete, Lower Mayombe. P. Trichobatrachus robustus (P2.181) from Miconge, and Q. Nectophryne afra (P2.063) from Vaku, Upper Mayombe. R. N. aff. batesii (P3.224) from Mbundu, Lower Mayombe. S. Sclerophrys sp. (P2.042) from Vaku, Upper Mayombe. T. S. pusilla (P2.094) from Sanga Mongo, Lower Mayombe. U. S. regularis (P1.142) from Tando Zinze. V. S. tuberosa (P3.509) from Sanga Wanda, Lower Mayombe. W. Hoplobatrachus occipitalis (P9.073) from South of Dinge. Photographs by PVP (A–J, L, N, P–T, V–W), JLR (K, M, O) and TB (U).