REVUE SUISSE DE ZOOLOGIE 

 Tome 75, n° 52 — Décembre 1968 



1023 



Hybridization of Xenopus laevis petersi 

 (poweri) and X.l. laevis 



by 



A. W. BLACKLER 1 and M. FISCHBERG 



from the Station de Zoologie Expérimentale, Université de Genève 



with 8 figures 

 Introduction 



Toads of the genus Xenopus are primitive aglossal Anura having a wide 

 distribution in the continent of Africa. Since most species can be induced to breed 

 in the laboratory throughout the year, they have become the object of various 

 Diological studies and in récent years a number of articles has appeared which 

 .reat aspects of the embryology, physiology and biochemistry of Xenopus. Most of 

 ;.he publications have concerned the species Xenopus laevis (Daudin 1802), which 

 s commonly known as the South African Clawed Toad. Following the systematic 

 itudies of Parker (1936, 1956) it would appear that this toad should be more 

 itrictly referred to as Xenopus laevis laevis since there exists three or four other 

 brms of laevis which deserve subspecific status and which are not indigenous 

 o South Africa. Thèse latter are X. 1. victorianus Ahl 1924, X. 1. petersi Bocage 

 895 and X. 1. borealis Parker 1936. 



Victorianus is a résident of Uganda and Northern Tanganyika and is the 

 mallest subspecies, rarely exceeding 65 mm in snout-to-vent length. It is pro- 

 >able that X. 1. bunyoniensis Loveridge 1932 (a name given to spécimens from 

 !.ake Bunyoni) is a synonym. Petersi has a distribution in Angola and Northern 

 thodesia and can measure up to 80 mm. in body length. The name X. 1. poweri 

 lewitt 1927 has been given to spécimens taken from the région around the 

 Ictoria Falls in North Rhodesia, but Parker (1956) considers that thèse speci- 

 îens are actually petersi. However, Schmidt and Inger (1959) have taken issue 



1 Cornell University, Division of Biological Sciences, Ithaca, N.Y. (U.S.A.) 



