''Leptopelis bequaerti'' 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

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

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 ...

and only known from its type locality,

Gbarnga Gbarnga is the capital city of Bong County, Liberia, lying north east of Monrovia. During the First Liberian Civil War, it was the base for Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia. Cuttington College, a private, Episcopal-affilia ...

, and from Mount Coffee. Common name Gbanga forest treefrog has been coined for it. It is a poorly known species with uncertain taxonomic validity.

Etymology

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 ...

''bequaerti'' honours

Joseph Charles Bequaert Joseph Charles Bequaert was an American naturalist of Belgian origin, born 24 May 1886 in Torhout (Belgium) and died on 12 January 1982 in Amherst, Massachusetts. Clench WJ (1982). "Joseph Charles Bequaert". '' The Nautilus'' 96(2)page 35 Caree ...

, a Belgian botanist, entomologist, and malacologist who collected the

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 ...

Description

Adult females measure and a single adult male in snout–vent length. A newly metamorphosed juvenile measured . The snout is rounded. The tympanum is visible. The fingers are relatively long and bear large discs but only rudimentary webbing. The toes bear discs that are slightly smaller than the finger ones. The toes are two-thirds webbed. Skin of the dorsum is shagreened and bears small scattered warts. Colouration is pale brown above with a dark triangular interorbital marking. There is often a connected hourglass like pattern further back. A dark line runs from the eye, over the tympanum, and to the base of the forearm. The flanks are marbled. The limbs have dark crossbars. The ventrum is creamy white, possibly with sparse, brown mottling.

Habitat and conservation

The habitat of this species is unknown, although it presumably breeds in temporary waterbodies where its

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 would develop. Threats to this species are unknown, as is its possible presence in protected areas.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1943322 bequaerti Frogs of Africa Amphibians of West Africa Endemic fauna of Liberia Taxa named by Arthur Loveridge Amphibians described in 1941 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot