Weale's running frog

{{Speciesbox

| image = Semnodactylus wealii.jpg

| status = LC

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{cite iucn |author=IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group |year=2013 |title=Semnodactylus wealii |page=e.T56297A3037487 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-2.RLTS.T56297A3037487.en |access-date=3 April 2022 }}

| taxon = Semnodactylus wealii

| authority = (Boulenger, 1882)

| parent_authority = Hoffman, 1939

| synonyms = {{species list

| Cassina wealii | Boulenger, 1882

| Cassina wealii quinquevittata | Hewitt, 1927

| Semnodactylus thabanchuensis | Hoffman, 1939

| Kassina weali fitzsimonsi | Hoffman, 1942 }}

| synonyms_ref =

}}

Weale's running frog (Semnodactylus wealii), also known as Weale's frog, rattling frog, and many other commons names, is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae. It is monotypic within the genus Semnodactylus.{{cite web |url=https://amphibiansoftheworld.amnh.org/Amphibia/Anura/Hyperoliidae/Kassininae/Semnodactylus |title=Semnodactylus Hoffman, 1939 |author=Frost, Darrel R. |year=2022 |work=Amphibian Species of the World: An Online Reference. Version 6.1 |publisher=American Museum of Natural History |doi=10.5531/db.vz.0001 |access-date=3 April 2022}} It is found in southern and eastern South Africa, Lesotho, and Eswatini.

Etymology

The specific name wealii honours James Philip Mansel Weale, an English amateur entomologist who farmed in Bedford, Eastern Cape, and sent specimens to England.

Description

Semnodactylus wealii grow to {{convert|44|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} in snout–vent length. The limbs are thin and long. The dorsum is yellowish-brownto grey and has three dark longitudinal bands, each with a pale center. The flanks have a dark stripe or a series of blotches. The concealed parts of the limbs are yellow to orange. The throat in breeding males is black.

The male advertisement call is a low-pitched creak, resembling the sound of a cork being removed from a bottle.

Habitat and conservation

Weale's running frog is a common frog mostly occurring in grassland habitats at elevations below {{convert|1700|m|abbr=on}}; in Western Cape it is also found in fynbos heath. It breeds in all sort of ponds (both permanent and temporary, and natural and artificial) that have emergent vegetation. It is present in many protected areas, tolerates disturbance, and is not facing any major threats.

References

{{Reflist|30em|refs=

{{cite book |last1 = Beolens | first1 = Bo | last2 = Watkins | first2 = Michael | last3 = Grayson | first3 = Michael |name-list-style=amp |title=The Eponym Dictionary of Amphibians |url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=QJY3BAAAQBAJ&pg=GBS.PA229 |date=2013 |publisher=Pelagic Publishing |isbn=978-1-907807-42-8 |page=229}}

{{cite book |title=Field Guide to the Frogs & other Amphibians of Africa |last1=Channing |first1=Allan |last2=Rödel |first2=Mark-Oliver |name-list-style=amp |year=2019 |publisher=Struik Nature |location=Cape Town |isbn=978-1-77584-512-6 |page=144 }}

{{cite web |url=https://amphibiansoftheworld.amnh.org/Amphibia/Anura/Hyperoliidae/Kassininae/Semnodactylus/Semnodactylus-wealii |title=Semnodactylus wealii (Boulenger, 1882) |author=Frost, Darrel R. |year=2022 |work=Amphibian Species of the World: An Online Reference. Version 6.1 |publisher=American Museum of Natural History |doi=10.5531/db.vz.0001 |access-date=3 April 2022}}

}}

Category:Hyperoliidae

Category:Frogs of Africa

Category:Amphibians of South Africa

Category:Amphibians of Eswatini

Category:Vertebrates of Lesotho

Category:Amphibians described in 1882

Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot