Arthroleptis fichika Blackburn, 2009
The name 'fichika' is Kiswahili for ‘‘hidden’’ and refers to the fact that this species was first identified through molecular phylogenetic analysis (Blackburn, 2008; Blackburn, 2009).
This is a very small Arthroleptis with a broad head. The tympanum is round and distinctly visible, less than ½ the diameter of the eye, and lacks a fold of skin over the top. There is a distinct dark brown spot in the groin and on the front of each thigh. The undersurface of the thighs is dark with lighter gray spots. The throat is orange-red and not mottled. The ventral surface is yellow and the underside of the thighs is red. The finger tips are not expanded. Toe tips are slightly expanded and faintly pointed. Toes lack webbing (Text from Harper et al., 2010).
Arthroleptis fichika and A. kidogo are very similar. Both are very small (< 15mm), have a dark spot in the groin and are darkly colored on the undersurfaces of the thighs. A. fichika has a dark band that runs from the snout, through the eye, over the tympanum and stops at the base of the arm. In A. kidogo this band continues beyond the base of the arm (Text from Harper et al., 2010).
The holotype measured 13.5 mm, and the paratype measured 14.2 mm (Blackburn, 2009). Both specimens were female.
This species is currently only known from the West Usambara Mountains (Blackburn, 2009; Harper et al., 2010).
This species is found within leaf litter in forests and is known from elevations between 1383 and 1900 m (Harper et al., 2010).