''Hymenochirus boettgeri'', also known as the Zaire dwarf clawed frog or the Congo dwarf clawed frog, is a species of

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

in the family Pipidae. It is found in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

, Equatorial Guinea,

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...

, and east to the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

and to 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 ...

. It presumably occurs in the Republic of the Congo but has not been recorded there. It is a common species over most of its wide range and the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of nat ...

has assessed its conservation status as being of

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

Etymology

The specific name ''boettgeri'' honours

Oskar Boettger Oskar Boettger (german: Böttger; 31 March 1844 – 25 September 1910) was a German zoologist who was a native of Frankfurt am Main. He was an uncle of the noted malacologist Caesar Rudolf Boettger (1888–1976). From 1863 to 1866 he studied at ...

, a German zoologist.

Description

This aquatic frog is generally some shade of brown or grey, speckled with darker spots. The head is narrow and tapering, it lacks a tongue and eyelids. The legs are long and there are claws on the hind feet. Females, at up to are larger than males. The tympanum is twice as large in males as it is in females, giving males the appearance of having a swollen head. Males also have a large subdermal gland on the hind part of their forearm which appears as a white spot near the armpit. This gland enlarges during the breeding season.

Habitat

''Hymenochirus boettgeri'' is an aquatic frog that generally occurs in still, shaded water in lowland rainforest and in pools by slow-flowing rivers.

In captivity

This species is also bred and sold as aquatic pets, often under name African dwarf frog that also includes other ''Hymenochirus'' species. As pets, African dwarf frogs can live peacefully among other fish in an aquarium. Their tank mates should be neither large enough to pose a predatory threat to the frogs, nor small enough to become food for the frogs themselves. They are not an especially demanding species, and can be kept in most standard aquarium setups. Seeing as how they must breathe air to survive and can escape from the tank, aquariums that are not too tall and are well-covered are a must. They can be fed a diet of suitably-sized food items designed for use with aquarium fish, including live, frozen and freeze-dried bloodworms, tubifex worms, and brine shrimp. These frogs are not picky but overfeeding will quickly lead to obesity. They will also eat any form of prepared food that sinks to the bottom.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3018592 boettgeri Frogs of Africa Amphibians of West Africa Amphibians of Cameroon Amphibians of the Central African Republic Amphibians of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Amphibians of Equatorial Guinea Amphibians of Gabon Fauna of Nigeria Taxa named by Gustav Tornier Amphibians described in 1896