Anchieta's tree frog (''Leptopelis anchietae''), also known as the Huila forest treefrog, is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

in the family

Arthroleptidae The Arthroleptidae are a family (biology), 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 restrict ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

. It is closely related to the West Cameroon forest tree frog (''Leptopelis nordequatorialis'', formerly ''Leptopelis anchietae nordequatorialis'') and the Garamba forest tree frog (''Leptopelis oryi'').

Description

Anchieta's tree frog has a brown back and legs. The legs are spotted with white spots, and the sides of its head and body are a darker brown. Male members of the species have pectoral glands; the West Cameroon forest tree frog and other members of the genus ''Leptopelis'' share this characteristic. The function of the pectoral glands is unknown, but they are made of glandules like the glandules in

nuptial pads A nuptial pad (also known as thumb pad, or nuptial excrescence) is a secondary sex characteristic present on some mature male frogs and salamanders. Triggered by androgen hormones, this breeding gland (a type of mucous gland) appears as a spike ...

that appear on many species of amphibians. Thus, scientists speculate that the pectoral glands play a role in the frogs' mating process.

Etymology

The frog was named after

José Alberto de Oliveira Anchieta José Alberto de Oliveira Anchieta (variations José d'Anchieta, José Anchieta, José de Anchieta - b. October 9, 1832 in Lisbon, Kingdom of Portugal, d. September 14, 1897 in Caconda, Portuguese Angola) was a 19th-century Portuguese explorer a ...

, a nineteenth-century Portuguese naturalist who collected many biological specimens in

and

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

, by

José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage (2 May 1823 – 3 November 1907) was a Portuguese zoologist, politician, and professor. He served as a professor of zoology and director of the National Museum of Natural History and Science, Lisbon, National Museu ...

, a Portuguese zoologist who corresponded with Anchieta. Anchieta's original specimen of the frog was destroyed in a 1978 fire.

Ecology

There are few records of the population range or behaviors of Anchieta's tree frog. Scientists believe that the frog is most prevalent at medium elevations of about 1000 m. Other species of ''Leptopelis'' bury their eggs in mud nests near water, so scientists suspect Anchieta's tree frog may do so as well.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anchieta's tree frog anchietae Endemic fauna of Angola Amphibians of Angola Amphibians described in 1873 Taxa named by José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage Taxonomy articles created by Polbot