''Leptopelis flavomaculatus'' 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 found in the lowlands eastern and southern Africa, from

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

north of the Save River and

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

to Malawi, eastern Tanzania (including the island of Zanzibar), and coastal Kenya. Its common names are yellow-spotted tree frog, brown-backed tree frog, brown forest treefrog, and Johnston's treefrog.

Taxonomy

''Leptopelis flavomaculatus'' was described by Albert Günther in 1864, based on a specimen that he identified as an adult female '' Hyperolius'', but which actually is a juvenile ''Leptopelis''. Its closest relative is ''

Leptopelis christyi ''Leptopelis christyi'', also known as the Christy's tree frog or Christy's forest treefrog, is a species of frog in the family Arthroleptidae. It is known with confidence from eastern and northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, southern and w ...

''. '' Leptopelis lebeaui'' might be conspecific with ''L. flavomaculatus''.

''Leptopelis barbouri''

The

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

of ''Leptopelis barbouri'' Ahl, 1929 (common name: Barbour's forest treefrog) was in 2014 shown to be conspecific with ''Leptopelis flavomaculatus'', bringing the former into synonymy with the latter. Arthur Loveridge had considered ''Leptopelis barbouri'' to be synonym of '' Leptopelis aubreyi'', but in 1975 resurrected it as a valid species. However, in literature between 1975 and 2014, name ''Leptopelis barbouri'' has been used for altogether different species that is now known as '' Leptopelis grandiceps'', and which until 2014 was considered a synonym of ''

Leptopelis uluguruensis The Uluguru forest tree frog or ruby-eyed tree frog, ''Leptopelis uluguruensis'', is a species of frog in the family Arthroleptidae endemic to Tanzania. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropic ...

''. In other words, even though ''Leptopelis barbouri'' is synonym of ''Leptopelis flavomaculatus'', pre-2014 literature on ''Leptopelis barbouri'' actually refers to ''Leptopelis grandiceps''.

Description

Adult males measure and females in snout–vent length. The dorsum is either uniform green with white heels, or brown with a darker, forward-pointing triangle with a blunt apex. There is a dark bar between the eyes and a dark canthal line. Young, green specimens often have yellow spots. ''Leptopelis flavomaculatus'' is similar to '' Leptopelis vermiculatus'' but lacks the latter's vermiculated dorsum. It is also similar ''L. christyi'' but is larger and its dorsal triangle has a more blunt apex.

Habitat and conservation

The species' natural habitats are lowland and montane evergreen forests, and especially dry forests, at elevations to

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 ...

. It occurs in both pristine and secondary habitats, often along streams, but does not survive in open habitats outside forest. Males can either call from leaves or branches, often at 3–4 m above the ground, or from the mouth of burrows in the ground. Assuming that it is similar to other frogs in its genus, the eggs are laid in a nest near water. ''Leptopelis flavomaculatus'' is often common in suitable habitats. Habitat loss caused by agricultural expansion, logging, and increasing human settlements is, however, a threat. It occurs in several protected areas.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1947148 flavomaculatus Frogs of Africa Amphibians of Kenya Amphibians of Malawi Amphibians of Mozambique Amphibians of Tanzania Amphibians of Zimbabwe Amphibians described in 1864 Taxa named by Albert Günther Taxonomy articles created by Polbot