Arthroleptis lameerei De Witte, 1921
Poynton (2003) questioned the distinctness of this species from Arthroleptis xenochirus.
Arthroleptis lameerei is a small frog that lives in leaf litter with cryptic coloration. It ranges from northern and central Angola through the southern Democratic Republic of the Congo and western Burundi. It is known to reproduce by direct development, bypassing the aquatic tadpole stage and emerging from the egg as a froglet. The third finger of adult males are very long, and may reach 40% of the snout-vent length.
The IUCN Red List (2004) categorizes this species as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, its tolerance of a broad range of habitats, its presumed large population, and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category (Drewes and Channing, 2004).
This species occurs in the Upemba National Park in southern Democratic Republic of Congo, and presumably in other protected areas (Drewes and Channing, 2004).
There is no information on threats to this species (Drewes and Channing, 2004).
Arthroleptis lameerei is a small, stocky frog with a snout-vent length of up to 23 mm. The ratio of the length of the first finger to the distance between the anterior borders of the eyes ranges between 38-78%; this ratio can be much larger (up to 140%) in other Arthroleptis species.
This species superficially resembles its close relatives Arthroleptis boulengeri and A. carquejai, but it can be distinguished by its fingers and toes, which lack rounded or enlarged tips. The metatarsal tubercle of A. carquejai is also larger than that of A. lameerei (de Witte, 1921).
This species has a conical papilla in the middle of the tongue. The head is slightly wider than it is long, with a truncated snout that is slightly shorter than the eye. The canthus rostralis is obtuse. The nostril is closer to the tip of the snout than to the eye. The interorbital space is wider than the upper eyelid. The tympanum is distinct, measuring half of the diameter of the eye. The fingers are moderately long and simply obtuse. The first finger is shorter than the second, and the third is 1 1/2 times as long as the second and over twice as long as the fourth. The length of the foot is half of the snout-vent length. The toes are rather short and simply obtuse, and they possess only a rudiment of webbing at their bases. Subarticular tubercles are small but rather prominent. There is a very prominent oval-shaped internal metatarsal tubercle that is as long as the internal toe. External metatarsal tubercles and tarsal tubercles are absent. The hind limb is folded anteriorly, and the tibio-tarsal articulation reaches the eye (de Witte, 1921).
The skin is granular dorsally, dotted with more prominent tubercles that sometimes form a fragmented line from the tip of the snout to the anus. The ventral surfaces are smooth. The dorsal skin is dark brown, spotted or mottled with black (de Witte, 1921). Channing (2001) reports that a “darker double-hourglass pattern” may be present on the back. Sometimes a thin, light line extends from the tip of the snout to the anus. The limbs are more or less distinctly barred or spotted with black. The lips and flanks are sometimes ticked with white and brown. The throat is sometimes marbled or streaked with brown (de Witte, 1921). Sexually mature males have a single vocal sac with denser gular pigmentation (Channing, 2001).
The snout-vent length of this species is 14 mm (de Witte, 1921). Channing (2001) reports that males and females can reach snout-vent lengths of up to 23 mm.
The type series of this species was collected by the Lemaire Mission in Lofoï, in the Katanga province of what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo (de Witte, 1921). This species has also been found in leaf litter in multiple locations in northern Angola and in western Burundi (Channing, 2001; Drewes and Channing, 2004).
This species lives in leaf litter in wooded areas (Channing, 2001; Drewes and Channing, 2004).
This species is generally cryptic, but it may be extremely common at particular times of the year (Channing, 2001; Drewes and Channing, 2004).
Breeding in this species occurs between November and March but has not been studied in detail. Like the other members of the family Arthroleptidae, Arthroleptis lameerei undergoes direct development (Channing, 2001; Drewes and Channing, 2004).