''Phrynobatrachus sandersoni'' (common name: Sanderson's hook 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

Phrynobatrachidae ''Phrynobatrachus'' is a genus of Sub-Saharan frogs that form the monogeneric family Phrynobatrachidae. Their common name is puddle frogs, dwarf puddle frogs, African puddle frogs, or African river frogs. The common name, puddle frog, refers to ...

. It is found in 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 in

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 ...

, including 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 ...

. It is named for

Ivan T. Sanderson Ivan Terence Sanderson (January 30, 1911 – February 19, 1973) was a British biologist and writer born in Edinburgh, Scotland, who became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Along with Belgian-French biologist Bernard Heuvelmans, Sand ...

, a British naturalist and explorer, and later on, author and television commentator.

Habitat

''Phrynobatrachus sandersoni'' live in the vicinity of streams in forest. They are only found in secondary habitats at higher elevations. It is a common species but it probably suffers from the loss of forest habitats.

Description

''Phrynobatrachus sandersoni'' are small frogs: adults measure in snout–vent length. They have a distinct tympanum. Tips of fingers and toes are dilated into large T-shaped discs; the toes have moderate webbing. Breeding males exhibit nuptial pads, lateral vocal folds, femoral glands and enlarged pseudo-teeth in the lower jaw.

Reproduction

Eggs are laid on leaves close to water, but not above water. Female frog may guard its egg clutch usually consisting of 12–17 eggs. 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 ...

falls to the ground and develops on land. It has "semi-direct development": the tadpole relies on its yolk and does not eat; it lacks a fully developed alimentary canal.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4667279 sandersoni Frogs of Africa Amphibians of Cameroon Amphibians of Equatorial Guinea Amphibians described in 1935 Taxa named by Hampton Wildman Parker Taxonomy articles created by Polbot