A New Species of Cardioglossa (Anura: Arthroleptidae) from the Upper Guinean Forests of West Africa

We describe a new frog species of the genus Cardioglossa from the Upper Guinean forests of West Africa. Cardioglossa occidentalis, new species, is found in primary rainforests in Ghana, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. We demonstrate that this species is morphologically and genetically distinct from C. leucomystax, the species to which these populations were previously assigned. Cardioglossa occidentalis differs from similar congeners by the following combination of markings: fusion or near fusion of all three dorsal lobes (cephalic, scapular, and lumbar); prominent white line extending anteriorly from arm terminates ventral to eye; dark mask extending posteriorly from eye continues unbroken beyond posterior border of scapular lobe; lateral body covered in very few, large dark spots rimmed with thin white. Cardioglossa occidentalis appears related to C. leucomystax, C. melanogaster, and C. schioetzi. This description brings the number of Cardioglossa species to 16.

Résumé

Nous décrivons une nouvelle espèce de grenouille du genre Cardioglossa de forêt tropicale du bloc de la Haute Guinée de l'Afrique de l'Ouest. Cardioglossa occidentalis, espèce nouvelle, est trouvée dans les forêts primaires de Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinée, Libéria, et Sierra Leone. Nous démontrons que cette espèce est morphologiquement et génétiquement distincte de C. leucomystax, l'espèce auxquelles ces populations ont été classées précédemment. Cardioglossa occidentalis diffère des autres espèces de Cardioglossa par la combinaison des caractéristiques suivantes: la fusion (ou presque fusion) de chacune des trois macules dorsales (céphalique, scapulaire, et lombaire); la ligne blanche proéminente étendant antérieurement du bras se termine ventral de l'œil; le masque foncé étendant postérieurement de l'oeil continue ininterrompu au delà du cadre postérieur de la macule scapulaire; le corps latéral est couvert de très peu, grandes taches qui sont bordées d'un linéament blanc. Parmi Cardioglossa, C. occidentalis semble être très proche à C. leucomystax, C. melanogaster, et C. schioetzi. Cette description apporte le nombre d'espèces de Cardioglossa à 16.

Figure 1

(A) Type locality and typical breeding habitat of Cardioglossa occidentalis in the primary rainforest of Taï National Park, Ivory Coast. (B) Male Cardioglossa occidentalis (SMNS 12330, paratype) from Pic de Fon in southeastern Guinea; photo: Piotr Naskrecki. (C) Male Cardioglossa occidentalis from Guinea (not collected, photo: Piotr Naskrecki). (D) Female Cardioglossa leucomystax (ZMB 70393) from Dzanga-Sangha forest reserve, Central African Republic.

Figure 2

Holotype of Cardioglossa occidentalis (adult male, SMNS 9632.2) in dorsal, ventral, and lateral view; photos: J. Penner.

Figure 3

Right lateral view of the head of various Cardioglossa species. (A) Cardioglossa occidentalis, new species (MVZ 244911; paratype). (B) Cardioglossa leucomystax (MCZ A46628). (C) Cardioglossa melanogaster (MHNG 1253.86; holotype). (D) Cardioglossa schioetzi (ZMUC R076631; paratype). (E) Cardioglossa gratiosa (MHNG 1253.85; holotype). (F) Cardioglossa elegans (UTA 44472). Scale bar equals 1 millimeter.

Figure 4

Distribution of Cardioglossa occidentalis. Star = type locality, Taï National Park, SRET Station; 1 = North Kambry (unknown locality); 2 = Gola National Forest; 3 = North Lorma National Forest; 4 = Pic de Fon Classified Forest; 5 = Mount Bero Classified Forest; 6 = Monts Nimba, forêt du Ya; 7 = Monts Nimba, Zouguépo Forest; 8 = Monts Nimba, forests near Dolomou; 9 = Monts Nimba, Grassfield; 10 = Diécké Classified Forest (7°22′–7°39′N, 8°47′–9°06′W); 11 = Grebo National Forest; 12 = Cavally Classified Forest (5°50′–6°11′N, 7°32′–7°51′W); 13 = Taï National Park, near Guiroutou; 14 = Haute Dodo Classified Forest; 15 = Boi Tano Forest Reserve (5°30′40″N, 2°38′48″W); 16 = Ankasa Conservation Area; 17 = Draw River Forest Reserve; 18 = Kakum National Park; for exact locations of other sites see type series and non-types.

Contributor Notes

Associate Editor: T. W. Reeder.

¹ Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138.

² Department VI, Biogeography, University of Trier, 54286 Trier, Germany.

³ Department of Herpetology & Ichthyology, Muséum d'histoire naturelle, C. P. 6434, 1211 Genève, Switzerland.

⁴ Zoology Department, University of the Western Cape, Private Bag X17, Bellville 7535, South Africa.

⁵ Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, Adenauerallee 160, 53113 Bonn, Germany.

⁶ University of Yaoundé I, Faculty of Science, Laboratory of Pure and Applied Zoology, P.O. Box 812, Yaoundé, Cameroon.

⁷ Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Kruislaan 318, 1098 SM Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

⁸ Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, University of Würzburg, Biocenter, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany. Present address: Humboldt University, Museum of Natural History, Herpetology, Invalidenstr. 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany; E-mail: mo.roedel@museum.hu-berlin.de. Send reprint requests to this address.

Received: 29 Sept 2006

Accepted: 04 Dec 2007