''Hyperolius poweri'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

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

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 is found in southeastern coast of South Africa and southern Mozambique. 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 ...

''poweri'' honours

John Hyacinth Power John Hyacinth Power was the second Director of the McGregor Museum in Kimberley, South Africa.Wilson, Beryl 2007. Mr John Hyacinth Power: 1884–1964. In Hart, R. (ed) 2007. ''Chapters from the past: 100 years of the McGregor Museum, 1907–2007'' ...

, Irish-born director of the

McGregor Museum The McGregor Museum in Kimberley, South Africa, originally known as the Alexander McGregor Memorial Museum, is a multidisciplinary museum which serves Kimberley and the Northern Cape, established in 1907. Overview Housed at first in a purpos ...

(

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia * Kimberley (Western Australia) ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley * Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania * Kimberley, Tasmania a small town * County of Kimberley, a ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

) who collected amphibians as well as reptiles and plants. Accordingly, common names Power's reed frog and Power's long reed frog have been proposed for this species.

Taxonomy

''Hyperolius poweri'' was described by

Arthur Loveridge Arthur Loveridge (28 May 1891 – 16 February 1980) was a British biologist and herpetologist who wrote about animals in East Africa, particularly Tanzania, and New Guinea. He gave scientific names to several gecko species in the region. Arthur ...

in 1938 based on material from near

Stanger KwaDukuza is a municipality in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. In 2006, the municipal name was changed to KwaDukuza (which incorporates small towns such as Stanger, Balito, Shaka's Kraal, but the Zulu people in the area called it "Dukuza" well before ...

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

, South Africa. It belongs to the taxonomically difficult '' Hyperolius nasutus'' group. For a period, ''Hyperolius poweri'' was considered

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 ...

of ''Hyperolius acuticeps'', but is now recognized as a distinct species. On the other hand, ''Hyperolius acuticeps'' itself is now considered synonym of '' Hyperolius microps''.

Description

Males grow to and females to 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 snout is bluntly rounded in lateral view and sharply rounded from above. The toes are extensively webbed. The fingers and toes bear yellowish-green discs that are larger in the former. The dorsum is green with white lateral bands that run from over the eyes to the vent (sometimes these bands are not visible). There is a dark line running from the tip of the snout to the eyes. Males have white throat.

Habitat and conservation

''Hyperolius poweri'' occurs in association with emergent vegetation at the margins of swamps, rivers and lakes in savanna and grassland habitats. Males call from sedges and other emergent vegetation. Although threatened by habitat loss and degradation, ''Hyperolius poweri'' has a relatively wide distribution and plenty of suitable habitat remaining, and it has been assessed as 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 ...

" (2016). It is present in many protected areas. Nevertheless, the overall population appears to have declined.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7840127 poweri Frogs of Africa Amphibians of Mozambique Amphibians of South Africa Taxa named by Arthur Loveridge Amphibians described in 1938