Arthroleptis sylvaticus Laurent, 1954

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

Arthroleptis sylvaticus Laurent, 1954 complex

Figure 4D

Material. ANGOLA – Cabinda Province • Mayombe NP, Sanga Mongo ; –4.6661, 12.4407; 146 m a.s.l.; FKH 0970 ; GenBank: PQ455703. • Mayombe NP, Bata Lunhuca; –4.5981,

12.4597; 215 m a.s.l.; P4.085; GenBank: PQ455702. • Mayombe NP, Miconge; –4.4860, 12.8780; 377 m a.s.l.; FKH 1035−37 , FKH 1045 , FKH 1048 ; GenBank: PQ455704–08 .

Identification. Arthroleptis sylvaticus also represents a species complex with three distinct mitochondrial lineages ( Larson and Zimkus 2018; Deichmann et al. 2017). Material from Cabinda Province is identical to material from the Republic of the Congo (GenBank: KY080080 ), which represent the closest genetic samples available from the type locality of Buta, DRC ( Deichmann et al. 2017), still 1,300 km from the type locality. Also, it is genetically identical to material from Uíge Province, Angola ( Baptista 2024). Therefore, material from Cabinda Province and northern Angola may represent true Arthroleptis sylvaticus . However, due to the large distance from the type locality we suggest caution and recommend further taxonomic investigation.

Biology and distribution. Members of the A. sylvaticus complex are distributed in the Congo Basin. The specimens from Cabinda Province were found in dense rainforest among leaf litter near streams in Lower and Upper Mayombe.

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).