''Petropedetes cameronensis'', sometimes known as the Cameroon water frog, 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

Petropedetidae The Petropedetidae are a family of frogs containing three genera and 12 species. They are found in sub-Saharan tropical Africa and are sometimes known under common name African torrent frogs. They are inhabitants of the splash-water zone of cle ...

. It is found in southeastern

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, southwestern

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

, and on the island of

Bioko Bioko (; historically Fernando Po; bvb, Ëtulá Ëria) is an island off the west coast of Africa and the northernmost part of Equatorial Guinea. Its population was 335,048 at the 2015 census and it covers an area of . The island is located of ...

(

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 ...

). It is the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

of the genus ''Petropedetes''.

Description

''Petropedetes cameronensis'' is a small-sized ''Petropedetes'' with compact body. Males measure and females in snout–vent length. The snout is short. The tympanum is very small and rather indistinct, and without tympanic papilla (present in breeding males of many other ''Petropedetes'' species). The

iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants *Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional enti ...

is golden. The

canthus rostralis In snakes and amphibians, the canthus, canthal ridge or ''canthus rostralis'',Spawls S, Branch B. 1995. ''The Dangerous Snakes of Africa''. Ralph Curtis Books. Dubai: Oriental Press. 192 pp. . is the angle between the flat crown of the head and the ...

is sharp. The dorsum is light or dark brown with pale spots. Dorsal skin structure is variable with larger warts on the flanks and few large, longitudinal warts on back. The toes are approximately half-webbed. The male advertisement call is a whistle or a trill that drowns the noise of flowing water. 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 ...

has a muscular tail that enables it to jump on stones; the tail is long and has no ventral fin and only a very narrow dorsal fin.

Habitat and conservation

''Petropedetes cameronensis'' lives near and in flowing water, for example on stones in a fast-flowing stream and in rapids and waterfalls. It generally occurs at low altitudes but sometimes as high as

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 ...

. The eggs are laid on tree trunks or leaves close to humid rocks. The

s are saxicolous (living on rocks). ''Petropedetes cameronensis'' is a fairly common species, but it 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 agricultural development, logging, and growing human settlements. It is found in the

Korup National Park Korup National Park is in the Southwest Province of Cameroon and extends over 1,260 km2 of mostly undisturbed primary forest. It is reputedly one of Africa’s oldest and richest tropical forests in terms of floral and faunal diversity. It is ...

(Cameroon).

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2244267 cameronensis Taxa named by Anton Reichenow Amphibians described in 1874 Frogs of Africa Amphibians of Cameroon Amphibians of Equatorial Guinea Amphibians of West Africa Taxonomy articles created by Polbot