A new species of Rain Frog (Brevicipitidae, Breviceps) endemic to Angola

By

Nielsen, Stuart
Conradie, Werner
Ceríaco, Luis M. P.
Bauer, Aaron M. (Aaron Matthew), 1961-
Heinicke, Mathew
Stanley, Edward, of the Royal Artillery.
Blackburn, David C. (David Chandler), 1969-

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2020

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

979

Pages

133--160

Subjects

África Subsahariana , Afrobatrachia , Anura , Breviceps ombelanonga sp. nov , cryptic species , espécies crípticas , espécies novas , multilocus , novel species , Sub-Saharan Africa

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.979.56863

 

Abstract

Recent molecular phylogenetic work has found that Breviceps Merrem, 1820 comprises two major clades, one of which, the B. mossambicus group, is widely distributed across southern sub-Saharan Africa. This group is notable for harboring abundant cryptic diversity. Of the four most recently described Breviceps species, three are members of this group, and at least five additional lineages await formal description. Although Breviceps has long been known to occur in Angola, no contemporary material has been collected until recently. The three most widespread taxa, B. adspersus, B. mossambicus, and B. poweri, may all occur in Angola, but accurate species assignment remains challenging given the rampant morphological similarity between these taxa, and, until recently, the lack of genetic resources. Phylogenetic, morphological, and acoustic analyses of recently collected samples from disparate localities within Angola provide evidence for an undescribed species that is sister to B. poweri. The new species can be diagnosed from its sister taxon by lacking pale spots along the flanks, a pale patch above the vent, and a short, dark band below the nares (all present in B. poweri). Additionally, the male advertisement call differs from the three other Breviceps that might occur in Angola in having both a longer interval between consecutive calls and a higher average dominant frequency. We here describe this lineage as a distinct species, currently only known from Angola, and discuss the presence of other Breviceps taxa within Angola.