''Arthroleptis adolfifriederici'' 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

Arthroleptidae The Arthroleptidae are a family of frogs found in sub-Saharan Africa. This group includes African treefrogs in the genus ''Leptopelis'' along with the terrestrial breeding squeakers '' Arthroleptis'', and several genera restricted to the Guinea ...

. It is found in the eastern

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...

, and

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

. Several common names have been coined for it, including Rugege Forest squeaker, Rugegewald squeaker, Adolf Friedrich's squeaker frog, and Adolf's squeaker.

Etymology

The specific name ''adolfifriederici'' is named for

Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg Duke Adolf Friedrich Albrecht Heinrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (German: ''Adolf Friedrich Albrecht Heinrich, Herzog zu Mecklenburg-Schwerin''; 10 October 1873 – 5 August 1969), was a German explorer in Africa, a colonial politician, the elect ...

, German explorer and colonial politician, based on the "stately form" of the species.

Description

''Arthroleptis adolfifriederici'' is a moderately robust frog with long, slender limbs. Males measure (two specimens only) and females in snout–vent length. The head is broad. The tympanum is distinct and circular, tending toward ovoid. The fingers and toes do not have webbing but the toes have prominent subarticular tubercles. Skin is generally glandular. Color in preservative (alcohol) is light to medium brown with small, dark-brown spots.

Habitat and conservation

It can be found in leaf litter of montane forests (including bamboo forests) 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 ...

. It has also been recorded at the edge of human-modified forests following land clearance for agriculture. It appears to be an uncommon species. It is threatened by forest loss due to agriculture, timber cutting, and human settlements. It occurs in many protected areas, including the Nyungwe Forest National Park in Rwanda and

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest The Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is a large primeval forest located in south-western Uganda in the Kanungu District. The Bwindi forest is on the edge of the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift, at elevations ranging from . ...

in Uganda.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2699922 adolfifriederici Frogs of Africa Amphibians of Burundi Amphibians of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Amphibians of Rwanda Amphibians of Uganda Taxa named by Fritz Nieden Amphibians described in 1911 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot