Afrixalus fornasini
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Hyperoliidae
Genus: Afrixalus
Species:
A. fornasini
Binomial name
Afrixalus fornasini
(Bianconi, 1849)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Afrixalus fornasini.

Afrixalus fornasini is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae and is native to Africa. Its common name is Fornasini's spiny reed frog[2] or the greater leaf-folding frog[3]

The specific epithet fornasini is in honour of Italian amateur naturalist Carlo Antonio Fornasini, who collected the type specimen.[4]

Distribution and habitat

It is found in Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, South Africa and possibly Eswatini. Its natural habitats are temperate forest, subtropical or tropical dry forest, dry savanna, moist savanna, temperate shrubland, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, temperate grassland, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, swamps, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, water storage areas, and ponds.

Conservation status

The species is threatened in some parts of its range by habitat loss, but in general it is not very rare, and in some places common.[1]

Diet

Both male and female Afrixalus fornasinii adults prey on grey foam-nest tree frog eggs and tadpoles. This species is the first African anuran to demonstrate hetero-cannibalism by preying on eggs belonging to the same family.[5]

Evidence for natural selection

The camouflage mechanism used by the species provided compelling[6] evidence for evolution by natural selection. The zoologist Hugh Cott's drawings and description of the frog's "coincident disruptive coloration" showed that its pattern, forming bold stripes on the legs and body, lined up (coincided) exactly when the legs were tightly folded into the body at rest, effectively disrupting its outline. The zoologists I. C. Cuthill and A. Székely noted that the way the configuration works indicates that it must have survival value, implying natural selection at work.[6]

Notes

  1. 1 2 IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2013). "Afrixalus fornasini". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T56063A3034378. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-2.RLTS.T56063A3034378.en. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  2. ↑ AmphibiaWeb
  3. ↑ Carruthers, V. (2001). First Field Guide to Frogs of Southern Africa. ISBN 978-1-86872-595-3.
  4. ↑ Bianconi, G. Giuseppe (26 April 1849). "Alcune nuove specie di rettili del Mozambico". Nuovi Annali delle Scienze Naturali. 2 (in Italian). Bologna. 10: 106.
  5. ↑ Drewes, R. C.; Altig, R. (1996-11-01). "Anuran egg predation and heterocannibalism in a breeding community of East African frogs". Tropical Zoology. 9 (2): 333–347. doi:10.1080/03946975.1996.10539316. ISSN 0394-6975.
  6. 1 2 Cuthill, I. C.; Székely, A. (2011). Stevens, Martin; Merilaita, Sami (eds.). Animal Camouflage: Mechanisms and Function. Cambridge University Press. p. 50. ISBN 978-1-139-49623-0.


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