Amietia wittei

Amietia wittei (common names: Molo frog, De Witte's river frog) is a species of frog in the family Pyxicephalidae. It is found in Kenya and Tanzania,[1][2][3] including Mount Elgon in the Kenya/Uganda border.[1][3] Its type locality is in Molo, Kenya, located near the top of the Mau Escarpment.[2][3] The specific name wittei honours Gaston-François de Witte, a Belgian naturalist.[4]

Amietia wittei
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Pyxicephalidae
Genus: Amietia
Species:
A. wittei
Binomial name
Amietia wittei
(Angel, 1924)
Synonyms[2]
  • Phrynobatrachus Wittei Angel, 1924
  • Rana wittei (Angel, 1924)
  • Afrana wittei (Angel, 1924)

Description

Adult males reach 55 mm (2.2 in) and adult females 87 mm (3.4 in) in snout–urostyle length. The dorsal ground colour is a dark brown, becoming lighter on the flanks and yellowish on to the belly. The dorsolateral folds are black, and so are many of the elongated warts on the back. A row of irregular dark blotches runs from the groin towards the tympanum. Some specimens have a pale (bright green) vertebral stripe. The upper lip is uniformly dark or marbled; a pale (coppery) band above the upper lip extends between the tympanum and eye, touching the eye. The lower lip is marbled.[3]

Habitat and conservation

Amietia wittei is a locally common species inhabiting montane grasslands at elevations of 1,100–3,300 m (3,600–10,800 ft) above sea level. It is associated with streams and can be found in areas of low-intensity agriculture. It is suffering from some habitat loss and deterioration caused by expanding human settlements, wood collection, and logging. It occurs in several national parks: Aberdare and Mount Kenya National Parks in Kenya, Mount Elgon National Park in Kenya/Uganda, and Kilimanjaro National Park in Tanzania.[1]

References
  1. IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2017). "Amietia wittei". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T58191A113502710. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T58191A113502710.en.
  2. Frost, Darrel R. (2018). "Amietia wittei (Angel, 1924)". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  3. Channing, A.; Dehling, J.M.; Lötters, S. & Ernst, R. (2016). "Species boundaries and taxonomy of the African river frogs (Amphibia: Pyxicephalidae: Amietia)". Zootaxa. 4155 (1): 1–76. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4155.1.1. PMID 27615865.
  4. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael & Grayson, Michael (2013). The Eponym Dictionary of Amphibians. Pelagic Publishing. pp. 56, 234. ISBN 978-1-907807-42-8.
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