Summary ⁵

Hyperolius pusillus (common names: waterlily reed frog and various variants thereof, dwarf reed frog) is a species of frog in the Hyperoliidae family. It is found throughout diverse environments in eastern and southern Africa. It is a very common frog. Its natural habitats are open savanna, bush land and grassland. Breeding takes place in shallow pans, vleis, open swamps, and dams with floating vegetation such as water lilies.

Description ⁶

A small flat green Hyperolius (males 16-20 mm) from the eastern lowlands. Dorsum translucent green, sometimes with dark dots. A fine dark canthal and dorsolateral line is often present. Throat of males white, of females green. Eye golden. Pupil horizontal. Populations vary somewhat, thus the specimens found in the dry savanna in Kenya are larger and with a conspicuous hourglass pattern. Similar specimens are found in drier parts of eastern Zimbabwe. H. pusillus can closely resemble males of the larger H. argus; for a comparison with H. viridis see account for that species.

The young tadpoles are green, the older ones greenish brown with light ventrum and a black tail tip. Size 35 mm (10+25). Tooth formula 1/3.

This account was taken from "Treefrogs of Africa" by Arne Schiøtz with kind permission from Edition Chimaira publishers, Frankfurt am Main.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Michaelwild, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Waterlily_Reed_Frog_Ilanda_26_08_2010_2.JPG
2. (c) 2008 Frank Teigler, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=269747&one=T
3. (c) 2008 Frank Teigler, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=269748&one=T
4. (c) 2008 Frank Teigler, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=269749&one=T
5. (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperolius_pusillus
6. (c) AmphibiaWeb © 2000-2015 The Regents of the University of California, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://eol.org/data_objects/34269187

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• AMNH Amphibian Species of the World
• AmphibiaWeb
• Animal Diversity Web
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HerpMapper
• VertNet

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