''Leptodactylodon stevarti'' 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 known with certainty only from the area of its type locality, Monts de Cristal in northwestern

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 north ...

. Only two specimens are known. However, there is an uncertain record from

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...

that could represent this species or other, undescribed species. The specific name ''stevarti'' honours Tariq Stévart from the University of Brussels, an expert in western Central African orchids who help with the fieldwork. Common name Stévart's egg frog has been coined for the species.

Description

''Leptodactylodon stevarti'' was described based on two male specimens measuring in snout–vent length; the larger (

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

) was an adult whereas the smaller one (

paratype In zoology and botany, a paratype is a specimen of an organism that helps define what the scientific name of a species and other taxon actually represents, but it is not the holotype (and in botany is also neither an isotype nor a syntype). Of ...

) was a subadult or an adult not in breeding condition. ''Leptodactylodon stevarti'' is a stout frog with broad and comparatively flat head. The tympanum is small but distinct. The fingers have minute webbing whereas the toes have none. The dorsum is granular to warty. The dorsal colouration is chocolate brown to blackish brown spotted irregularly with small, white points. The belly and ventral parts of the thighs are white. The holotype has blackish brown throat with white spots, whereas the paratype has white throat densely beset with minute, black dots.

Habitat and conservation

''Leptodactylodon stevarti'' occurs in primary forest 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 ...

. Specimens have been found under rocks along streams in deep, narrow valleys. Breeding takes place in fast-flowing, rocky streams. The paratype had eaten a large ant and a small

ground beetle Ground beetles are a large, cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan family (biology), family of beetles, the Carabidae, with more than 40,000 species worldwide, around 2,000 of which are found in North America and 2,700 in Europe. As of 2015, it i ...

. The species is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

caused by

smallholder A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technology ...

farming activities and logging. It occurs in

Crystal Mountains National Park Crystal Mountains National Park (french: Parc National des Monts de Cristal) is a twin park and one of the 13 national parks of Gabon. It is situated in the Monts de Crystal on the western edge of the Woleu-Ntem Plateau, between Equatorial Gui ...

, but protection of forest in the national park is required.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1941680 stevarti Frogs of Africa Amphibians of Gabon Endemic fauna of Gabon Amphibians described in 2003 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Olivier Sylvain Gérard Pauwels