''Hyperolius concolor'', also known as the variable reed frog or Hallowell's sedge 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

Hyperoliidae The Hyperoliidae, or sedge frogs and bush frogs, are a large family of small to medium-sized, brightly colored frogs which contains more than 250 species in 19 genera. Seventeen genera are native to sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, the monotypic ...

. It occurs in

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

and

Middle Africa Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, Eq ...

Distribution

''Hyperolius concolor'' is known from eastern

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

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 ...

, and western

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 ...

(here listed from west to east).

Taxonomy

''Hyperolius concolor'' was described in 1884 by Edward Hallowell based on material collected from Liberia. A large number of species described in later years have been brought into

synonymy 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 ...

with it. One

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

, ''Hyperolius concolor ibadanensis'' Schiøtz, 1967 from Nigeria and Cameroon, is recognized, in addition to the nominotypical subspecies and one unnamed subspecies, the latter also from Nigeria and Cameroon.

Description

''Hyperolius concolor'' is a medium to large-sized member of its genus, with males measuring and females about in snout–vent length. The snout is long and pointed. The

pupil The pupil is a black hole located in the center of the iris of the eye that allows light to strike the retina.Cassin, B. and Solomon, S. (1990) ''Dictionary of Eye Terminology''. Gainesville, Florida: Triad Publishing Company. It appears black ...

is horizontal. There are two colour phases. All juveniles and many mature males display phase "J", which is normally brownish to green in colour and shows paired light dorsolateral lines or an hourglass pattern. All females, and some males, develop into phase "F" prior to the first breeding season. This phase is often colourful and variable, with uniformly green dorsum, yellow ventrum, and no dark lateral pigmentation. Also intermediate forms are found. Male advertisement call is a succession of brief, hard and non-melodic "clicks".

Habitat and conservation

''Hyperolius concolor'' occurs in forest clearings and degraded forest, and in cultivated land, secondary brush, and

gallery forest A gallery forest is one formed as a corridor along rivers or wetlands, projecting into landscapes that are otherwise only sparsely treed such as savannas, grasslands, or deserts. The gallery forest maintains a more temperate microclimate above th ...

s in

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 ...

; it avoids closed forest habitats. Breeding takes place in small (even putrid) pools and marshes. The eggs are laid on folded leaves above water; the

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 fall into the water and continue their development there. It is an abundant species that is probably increasing because its habitat is increasing, even though it could locally suffer from habitat loss. It is sometimes found in the international pet trade, but not at levels that would pose a threat. It occurs in many protected areas.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1943750 concolor Frogs of Africa Amphibians of Cameroon Amphibians of West Africa Amphibians described in 1844 Taxa named by Edward Hallowell (herpetologist) Taxonomy articles created by Polbot