''Amietia hymenopus'' is a species 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 ...

in the family

Pyxicephalidae The Pyxicephalidae are a family of frogs currently found in sub-Saharan Africa. However, in the Eocene, the taxon '' Thaumastosaurus'' lived in Europe. Classification The Pyxicephalidae contain two subfamilies, with a total of 12 genera. This f ...

. It is found in the

Drakensberg Mountain The Drakensberg (Afrikaans: Drakensberge, Zulu: uKhahlambha, Sotho: Maluti) is the eastern portion of the Great Escarpment, which encloses the central Southern African plateau. The Great Escarpment reaches its greatest elevation – within th ...

s and

Lesotho Highlands The Lesotho Highlands are formed by the Drakensberg and Maloti mountain ranges in the east and central parts of the country of Lesotho. Foothills form a divide between the lowlands and the highlands. Snow is common in the highlands in the winter ...

in northeastern

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

and adjacent

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. This species has many common names: Phofung river frog, Berg stream frog, Drakensberg river frog, Natal Drakensberg frog, Drakensberg frog, and Drakensberg rana.

Description

The maximum reported size for this species is in snout–urostyle length. In a smaller sample, the largest male was and the largest female was in snout–urostyle length. The back is very warty but there are no longitudinal skin ridges; a white glandular ridge runs from below the eye to the arm insertion. The tympanum is dark. The lips are marbled. The gular region is speckled or mottled while the belly is immaculate. There are two common dorsal patterns. One pattern is characterized by a pale background with olive markings; there are two dark "V" markings; a backward-facing one between the eyes, and another, forward-facing one at the level of the pectoral girdle. There is a white or grey, slightly elongated blotch located on the midline within this mark. The other pattern consists of a brown background with dark brown markings. The warts are slightly paler, and there is a pale patch on the midline, just behind the pectoral girdle.

Habitat and conservation

''Amietia hymenopus'' inhabit high-altitude riverine grasslands at elevations of

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

. Adults may be observed basking on rocks. Breeding takes place throughout the year in seepage areas on rocky stream banks or near the edges of pools. The eggs are laid in water.

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 can be active even under ice. This species is suffering from chytrid infections. Drying of streams and severe freezing in winter can cause large die-offs of tadpoles. Trampling and grazing are also threats. The species' range includes the

uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park The uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park is a protected area in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa, covering , and is part of a world heritage site. The park includes Royal Natal National Park, a provincial park, and covers part of the Drakensberg ...

in South Africa.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q21345942

hymenopus ''Hymenopus''Serville JGA (1831) ''Annls Sci. nat.'' 22: 46. is a genus of flower mantises belonging to the family Hymenopodidae. This genus is widespread in the tropical forests of East Asia. Species * '' Hymenopus bicornis'' Latreille, 1807 * ...

Frogs of Africa Vertebrates of Lesotho Amphibians of South Africa Taxa named by George Albert Boulenger Amphibians described in 1920 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot