Leptopelis anebos
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Anura
Family:	Arthroleptidae
Genus:	Leptopelis
Species:	L. anebos
Binomial name
Leptopelis anebos Portillo & Greenbaum, 2014

Leptopelis anebos, the young Itombwe forest treefrog, is a frog in the genus Leptopelis found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Congo. The young Itombwe forest treefrog was scientifically described in 2014 by Portillo & Greenbaum. It's morphologically similar to L. modestus and L. karissimbensis.

With a snout-vent length of 31.9 to 38.9 mm (1.26 to 1.53 in), with one female specimen measuring 48.7 mm (1.92 in), it is a small to medium-sized tree frog. It's typically brown in color. A third of its hands are webbed. It has no inner metatarsal tubercle, and only has a tiny, oval outer metatarsal tubercle. Its flat head is broader than its body, and its snout is relatively short. It has big eyes and pectoral glands under the belly. The species occur in montane forests up to 1,897 to 2,227 m (6,224 to 7,306 ft) above sea level, in the Itombwe Plateau in East Africa. An adult female was collected 500 m (1,600 ft) from a montane forest in Bilimba.

Description

Leptopelis anebos is a medium-sized frog with granular colored skin. Its underparts are also similarly colored and it has nostrils that are situated ontop of its head. It's distinguishable from other species of the same genus due to its lacking heel spurs, instead it has markings below the eye and full toe webbings. Additionally, the hue of L. anebos's back differs from that of L. karissimbensis (being tan or cream instead of gray or reddish-brown). The frequency of its call is not as high-pitched as in other species and it has a gray vocal sac rather than a blue or green sac as seen in L. modestus. Each finger's subarticular tubercles on the palmer tubercles are well-developed. Under each toe, there are round subarticular tubercles. Cream specks are dispersed throughout the grayish-cream back. A widely dispersed, imperceptible brownish reticulate pattern can be seen behind the eyes. A thin black reticulation may be seen on the brown iris. Some individual animals have irregular brown patches around the eye and above the legs and arms, and also white blotches situated to the side. The arms have four gray stripes and the legs have three barely perceptible brownish bands. Males are smaller than females, although this needs to be confirmed since just one female has been collected.^[2]

Geographic distribution and threats

Leptopelis anebos lives in wetlands, grasslands and forests of Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo. They've been recorded in one to four locations in elevations of up to 2,227 m (7,306 ft). It's listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2016. It's threatened primarily by deforestation. Additional threats include mining, agriculture and cattle ranching. The chytrid fungus may also be a threat to the population.^[3]

References