Golden Dwarf Reed Frog
Afrixalus aureusSummary 1
The Golden Banana Frog or Golden Dwarf Reed Frog (Afrixalus aureus) is a species of frog in the Hyperoliidae family. It is found in Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, and possibly Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, moist savanna, temperate shrubland, temperate grassland, swamps, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, and intermittent freshwater marshes. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Description 2
A slender, small Afrixalus (males 17–24 mm, females 19–26 mm) with fine, dense asperities over the entire upper surfaces and in the gular region in males, confined to the head in females. The gular disc is large, squarish to semitriangular, and weakly granular. Bright golden yellow above with a brown lateral band with light speckles. Often a pair of lumbar patches which continues the broad, oblique tibial markings when legs are at rest. Sometimes a weak vertebral line and a broad, poorly defined triangular headspot. Pickersgill (2007) has divided this species into two subspecies of which the above description refers to the nominate form, Afrixalus aureus aureus.
The subspecies A. a. crotalus has reduced asperities and different tibial markings and shows a great geographical variation in pattern, including completely unmarked specimens apart from the lateral band and tibial markings. Tibia with an oblique transverse patch across only part of the exposed surface (Pickersgill 2007).
Updated by A. Schiøtz, 2008.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrixalus_aureus
- (c) AmphibiaWeb © 2000-2015 The Regents of the University of California, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://eol.org/data_objects/34265638
