''Phrynobatrachus dalcqi'' 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 ...

s 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

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 ...

to the eastern

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

and only known from

Fizi Territory Fizi is a territory in the south of Sud-Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, bordering the South Kivu territories of Uvira, Mwenga and Shabunda to the north, Lake Tanganyika or Tanzania in the east, and the provinces Katanga in the s ...

in the

South Kivu South Kivu (''Jimbo la Kivu Kusini'' in Swahili), (french: Sud-Kivu) is one of 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Bukavu. History South Kivu Province was created from Sud-Kivu District in 1989, when the exis ...

province. 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 ...

''dalcqi'' honours "Professor A. Dalcq", presumably Albert Dalcq (1893–1973), a Belgian embryologist. Common names Kivu river frog and Dalcq's puddle frog have been proposed for it.

Description

''Phrynobatrachus dalcqi'' grow to in

snout–vent length Snout–vent length (SVL) is a morphometric measurement taken in herpetology from the tip of the snout to the most posterior opening of the cloacal slit (vent)."direct line distance from tip of snout to posterior margin of vent" It is the most c ...

. The body is compact and the head is short, with a pointed snout. The fingers and the toes bear terminal discs. The toes have distinct basal webbing. Skin is dorsally warty, more so in males than in females. There is a pair of long ridges in the scapular area as well as a medial horseshoe-shaped dorsal ridge. Dorsal colouration is grey-brown with indistinct darker patterning. A light vertebral stripe may be present. The legs have dark crossbars. The venter is pale grey with darker grey stippling (more prominent in females). A clear median line runs through the throat to the pectoral region.

Habitat and conservation

Ecology of ''Phrynobatrachus dalcqi'' is poorly known. It is known from 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 ...

and is presumed to be a forest species that breeds in water. Threats to it are unknown. It is not known to occur in any protected areas.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2243986 dalcqi Frogs of Africa Amphibians of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Endemic fauna of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Taxa named by Raymond Laurent Amphibians described in 1952 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot