''Leptopelis yaldeni'' 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 ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

and occurs in the montane highlands in Gojjam. Its range might be limited by the deep gorges of the Blue Nile. It is named in honour of Derek Yalden, a British zoologist who collected some of the types. Common names Yalden's tree frog and grassland forest treefrog have been coined for this species.

Description

Adult males measure and adult females in snout–vent length. The habitus is relatively slender. The snout is moderate, slightly pointed in profile. The tympanum is round and fairly conspicuous. Digital discs are of moderate size. The webbing between the toes and the two outermost fingers is moderate. This species has two colour morphs. One form is dorsally brown (ranging from pale cream or golden, sometimes greenish, through shades of grey-brown or red-brown to dark purplish-brown), typically with darker markings with that may be prominent; the pattern includes an often incomplete interorbital bar and a triangular dorsal mark. The other morph is bright green (bright blue-green or yellow green, rarely silver-green or pale to dark olive); dorsal markings are usually absent. The green form dominates at the upper end of the altitude range of this species where the habitats are more open, whereas the brown morph is only present at lower altitudes where the habitat has more cover. The male advertisement call is a series of screams followed by a click. 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 ...

have a short, deep body and relatively long tail. The largest specimen, with budding hindlimbs, measures in total length.

Habitat and conservation

''Leptopelis yaldeni'' occurs in montane grasslands and moderately degraded habitats such as rural settlements 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 ...

. Breeding typically takes place close to the banks of small streams. Males call from exposed positions; if tall vegetation is available, they will often choose to call from elevated positions, but they may also call from on the ground if the pool margin is bare earth. The eggs are deposited in nests on land near the water, and the

s develop in the water. ''Leptopelis yaldeni'' is common and even abundant at many sites. Although it tolerates some habitat modification, it is likely that intensification of urbanization and agriculture will negatively impact this species. It is not known to occur in any protected areas.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2209270 yaldeni Frogs of Africa Amphibians of Ethiopia Endemic fauna of Ethiopia Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Amphibians described in 1977