''Xenopus boumbaensis'', the Mawa clawed frog, is a species of frog in the family

Pipidae The Pipidae are a family of primitive, tongueless frogs. The 41 species in the family Pipidae are found in tropical South America (genus ''Pipa'') and sub-Saharan Africa (the three other genera). Description Pipid frogs are highly aquatic and ...

. It is known from a few localities in central and south-eastern Cameroon, and from north-western

Republic of Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

and extreme south-western Central African Republic; it probably occurs more widely in the central African forest belt, but identification is difficult: it is one of the

cryptic species In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

that resemble ''

Xenopus fraseri Fraser's platanna (''Xenopus fraseri'') is a species of frogs in the family Pipidae found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and possibly Rwanda. Its ...

'', from which it can be distinguished by chromosome number ( 2n=72) and a male advertisement call of a single note.

Etymology

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 ...

''boumbaensis'' refers to the type locality (Mawa) that is within the

Boumba River Boumba River is a river in the South Cameroon Plateau of southeast Cameroon. Geography The river rises in the Abong-Mbang region. The Boumba is almost 530 km long, and has a catchment of 27.400 km²

drainage.

Description

Adult males can grow to and females to in snout–vent length. All ''Xenopus'' are characterized by a streamlined and flattened body, a vocal organ specialized for underwater sound production, lateral-line organs, claws on the innermost three toes, and fully webbed toes. The coloration is green with numerous spots posteriorly and on the hind limbs. The venter can be immaculate white but is often heavily spotted. ''Xenopus boumbaensis'' is an octoploid species ( 2n=72).

Habitat and conservation

This species occurs in aquatic habitats in the lowland rainforest region 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 ...

. It is typically found in forested habitats in slow-flowing forest streams and springs, but may also be found in swamps. Reproduction presumably involves free-living larvae. It is threatened by deforestation and habitat degradation as well as water pollution. It is known from a number of protected areas: Boumba Bek, Nki, and Lobeke National Parks in Cameroon, Dzanga-Sangha Special Reserve in the Central African Republic, and the

Odzala-Kokoua National Park Odzala-Kokoua National Park (or Odzala National Park) is a national park in the Republic of the Congo. The park was first protected in 1935, declared a biosphere reserve in 1977, and granted official designation by presidential decree in 2001. Odz ...

in the Republic of Congo.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q606940 boumbaensis Frogs of Africa Amphibians of Cameroon Amphibians of the Central African Republic Amphibians of the Republic of the Congo Amphibians described in 1983 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot