Afrixalus paradorsalis Perret, 1960

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

Afrixalus paradorsalis Perret, 1960 complex

Figures 6E–F

Material. ANGOLA – Cabinda Province • Mayombe NP, Mbongo Zimune; – 4.7442, 12.6914; 306 m a.s.l.; FKH 1244 ; GenBank: PQ455631. • Mayombe NP, Sanga Wanda; –4.6270, 12.4527; 215 m a.s.l.; P3.520; GenBank: PQ455629. • Mayombe NP, Entrance Sanga Wanda; –4.6304, 12.4714; 219 m a.s.l.; P3.530; GenBank: PQ455630. • Mayombe NP, Vaku; –4.6323, 12.8937; 319 m a.s.l.; FKH 0945−46 ; GenBank: PQ455632–33.

Identification. Afrixalus paradorsalis represents a species complex of medium-sized (SVL = 28–30 mm) reed frogs ( Charles et al. 2018). However, we found low genetic distances within our material (0.6–1.6% 16S p -distance; GenBank: MK509656 , MK509588 ) compared to material from Tsinguidi, Republic of the Congo and Monts de Cristal National Park, Gabon, respectively, and ascribed by Portik et al. (2019) to Afrixalus paradorsalis paradorsalis . Therefore, we ascribe our material to be conspecific with this taxon until more information becomes available.

Biology and distribution. The Afrixalus paradorsalis complex is widely distributed in the lowland forests of the Gulf of Guinea ( Charles et al. 2018). This material constitutes the first records of the species for Cabinda Province and Angola ( Baptista 2024) and the southernmost records for this species complex. This species has a unique call, unlike most other Afrixalus , consisting of short sequences of clicks rather than a long series. Individuals from Cabinda Province were found calling from low vegetation near small temporary pools, but we often found them perched far from permanent water.

Figures

Figure 6. Species of the family Hyperoliidae recorded from Mayombe National Park and Cabinda Province, Angola. Codes in brackets represent field numbers. A. Afrixalus aff. dorsalis (P2.068) from Sanga Mongo, B. Mbundu (P3.127), Lower Mayombe and C. Tando Zinze (P1.150). D. Afrixalus osorioi (P3.175) from Miconge, Upper Mayombe. E. Afrixalus paradorsalis (P3.520) from Sanga Wanda, Lower Mayombe and F. Vaku (P2.060), Upper Mayombe. G. Hyperolius adspersus (P1.147) from Tando Zinze. H. Female Hyperolius ocellatus (P9.062) from South of Dinge and I. male H. ocellatus from Sanga Mongo, Lower Mayombe (P2.078) J. Hyperolius olivaceus (P3.173), K. (P2.222) and L. (P2.227) from Miconge, Upper Mayombe, and M. (P3.205) from Lower Mayombe. N. Hyperolius parallelus (P1.298) from Tando Zinze. O. Male Hyperolius pardalis (P3.143) from Chimbete, Lower Mayombe, and P. females of H. pardalis from Sanga Mongo, Lower Mayombe (P2.083) and Q. from South of Dinge (P9.058). R. Hyperolius platyceps (P2.067) and S. (P2.102) from Sanga Mongo, Lower Mayombe. T. Hylambates leonardi (P2.095) in amplexus, from Sanga Mongo, Lower Mayombe. Photographs by PVP (A–I, K–M, O–T), JLR (J) and TB (G, N).