Sclerophrys pusilla (Mertens, 1937)

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

Sclerophrys pusilla (Mertens, 1937)

Figure 4T

Material. ANGOLA – Cabinda Province • Fazenda Mandarim; –5.0401, 12.0508; 14 m a.s.l.; P4.071; GenBank: PQ455949. • Mayombe NP, Sanga Mongo; –4.6661, 12.4406; 146 m a.s.l.; P2.089, FKH 0966 ; GenBank: PQ455943−44 • Mayombe NP, Mbundu; – 4.6875, 12.4981; 127 m a.s.l.; P3.129, P3.221, P3.546, P4.101; GenBank: PQ455946−48, PQ455950 • Mayombe NP, Miconge; -4.4860, 12.8780; 377 m a.s.l.; P2.210; GenBank: PQ455945.

Identification. A medium-sized toad (SVL = 65–80 mm) with flattened parotoid glands and great variation of morphological patterns. Specimens from Cabinda Province are genetically identical to other material from Angola (e.g., Iona NP [GenBank: ON006588 ] and Caccuchi River [GenBank: KT862862 ]) and differ by <1% from other material from Republic of the Congo (GenBank: KY079995 ), DRC (GenBank: KT862859 ) and Gabon (GenBank: KX260256 ).

Biology and distribution. A terrestrial toad with the widest distribution in the genus, present across most sub-Saharan savannahs and woodlands, but also present in forest, from Cameroon to Ethiopia in the east, southwards to Mozambique and eastern South Africa, and westward to Angola and northern Namibia. Although the species is widely distributed in Angola ( Marques et al. 2018), this represents the first records from Cabinda Province ( Baptista 2024). This species is likely common throughout the province, from the rainforest edge in both Lower and Upper Mayombe to the more arid savannahs of the Coastal Drier Belt.

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).