''Amnirana darlingi'', commonly known as Darling's golden-backed frog, 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 ...

s in the family Ranidae. It is found in eastern Angola, the

Caprivi Strip The Caprivi Strip, also known simply as Caprivi, is a geographic salient protruding from the northeastern corner of Namibia. It is surrounded by Botswana to the south and Angola and Zambia to the north. Namibia, Botswana and Zambia meet at a sin ...

of Namibia, extreme northern Botswana, extreme southern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia (but for the northeast), eastern and northern Zimbabwe, southern Malawi, and west-central Mozambique. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s are subtropical or tropical dry

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, moist

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

, subtropical or tropical moist

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It m ...

, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

, rivers,

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

s, freshwater lakes, freshwater

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

es,

arable land Arable land (from the la, arabilis, "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for the ...

, pastureland, water storage areas, and

pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from th ...

Conservation

Significant pressures are present from an expanding human population of the region, particularly due to conversion of habitat to agriculture, extraction of river water for human consumption, and widespread slash-and-burn practises. According to C. Michael Hogan: "While the population for ''H. darlingi'' may be secure for the present, the threat accretion trends place a significant pressure upon the habitat itself, as well as the

fragmentation of habitat Habitat fragmentation describes the emergence of discontinuities (fragmentation) in an organism's preferred environment (habitat), causing population fragmentation and ecosystem decay. Causes of habitat fragmentation include geological processes ...

References

* C.Michael Hogan. 2012
''Hylarana darlingi''
African Amphibians Lifedesk. ed. Breda Zimkus darlingi Frogs of Africa Amphibians of Angola Amphibians of Botswana Amphibians of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Amphibians of Malawi Amphibians of Mozambique Amphibians of Namibia Amphibians of Zambia Amphibians of Zimbabwe Amphibians described in 1902 Taxa named by George Albert Boulenger Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Ranidae-stub