''Acanthixalus'', commonly known as African wart frogs, is a genus of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...

s in the family

Hyperoliidae The Hyperoliidae, or sedge frogs and bush frogs, are a large family of small to medium-sized, brightly colored frogs which contains more than 250 species in 19 genera. Seventeen genera are native to sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, the monotypic ...

. They occur in the rainforests of Western and Central Africa, from Ivory Coast to Congo.

Species

The genus ''Acanthixalus'' contains two species: * ''

Acanthixalus sonjae ''Acanthixalus sonjae'' (common name: Ivory Coast wart frog, or African wart frog) is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae. It is found in south-western Ivory Coast (including Taï National Park, its type locality) and in south-western ...

'' Rödel, Kosuch, Veith, and Ernst, 2003 * ''

Acanthixalus spinosus ''Acanthixalus spinosus'', commonly known as the African wart frog, is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae, the sedge and bush frogs. It is native to Africa, where it can be found from south-eastern Nigeria to Gabon and the Democratic Re ...

'' (Buchholz and Peters, 1875)

Description

Both species are very similar in their size and appearance. The only significant morphological difference between then is the wider relative head width in males of ''A. sonjae'' compared to ''A. spinosus''. Average adult size is about in snout–vent length, with largest individuals nearly SVL. Males and females are similar in size, but males have a pair of elongate gular glands, larger discs on toes and fingers, and a large number of tarsal spines.

Ecology and behaviour

''Acanthixalus'' live in water-filled cavities of living trees and on tree trunks, from near the ground level to about 5 m above the ground. ''Acanthixalus'' have been found in a variety of wooded habitats: secondary and primary forests, both dry and swampy, as well as from a cacao plantation; the main habitat requirement is the presence of large, water-filled cavities. The

tadpole A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found i ...

s develop in the cavities. The development time is relatively long, three months or more. While ''A. spinosus'' tadpoles are

detritivore Detritivores (also known as detrivores, detritophages, detritus feeders, or detritus eaters) are heterotrophs that obtain nutrients by consuming detritus (decomposing plant and animal parts as well as feces). There are many kinds of invertebrates, ...

s, those of ''A. sonjae'' seem to thrive better with arthropod diet; cannibalism has not been observed. Both species appear to be mute. It has been speculated that they use olfactory orientation for finding mates instead.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q481669 Hyperoliidae Amphibians of Sub-Saharan Africa Amphibian genera Taxa named by Raymond Laurent Taxonomy articles created by Polbot