''Leptopelis oryi'', also known as the Garamba forest treefrog and Ory's tree 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 ...

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 northeastern

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 ...

, northwestern

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 ...

, and adjacent

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...

. It is morphologically similar to '' Leptopelis nordequatorialis'' from Cameroon, and has also been considered its

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

, but is currently treated as a distinct species. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''oryi'' honours Albert Ory, warden in the

Garamba National Park Garamba National Park is a nearly national park in north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is among Africa's oldest parks, and was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980 for its protection of critical habitat for norther ...

, the type locality of this species.

Description

Adult males measure and adult females in

snout–vent length Snout–vent length (SVL) is a morphometric measurement taken in herpetology from the tip of the snout to the most posterior opening of the cloacal slit (vent)."direct line distance from tip of snout to posterior margin of vent" It is the most c ...

. The overall appearance is stout. The head is as wide as the body or narrower. The snout is rounded. The tympanum is distinct. The tips of the digits are dilated into distinct discs. The fingers have no webbing whereas the toes have reduced webbing. Males do not have pectoral glands (present in ''L. nordequatorialis''). The dorsum is pale brown with three narrow darker dorsal and one dark lateral stripe. Males have pale

vocal sac The vocal sac is the flexible membrane of skin possessed by most male frogs and toads. The purpose of the vocal sac is usually as an amplification of their mating or advertisement call. The presence or development of the vocal sac is one way o ...

. The eyes are golden brown. The male advertisement call is a single, loud, low-pitched clack.

Habitat and conservation

''Leptopelis oryi'' occurs in dense, humid

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 ...

with tall grass and scattered bushes. In the dry season, these frogs are found buried in soil and under rocks, while during the wet season, males can be found perched high up in grass or on branches. They presumably lay eggs in a nest on the ground near water. ''Leptopelis oryi'' is a poorly known species known from few collections, but it appears to be reasonably abundant where it has been encountered. It is present in the

(Democratic Republic of Congo). There is no information on specific threats to this species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q943981 oryi Frogs of Africa Amphibians of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Amphibians of Uganda Vertebrates of South Sudan Amphibians described in 1968 Taxa named by Robert F. Inger Taxonomy articles created by Polbot