Phrynomantis microps Peters, 1875
Phrynomantis microps is a medium sized frog presenting with an elongated and depressed body; the dorsum is red, flanks and extremities black, and red spots are sometimes evident. This plump anuran manifests a blunt snout and prominent sacral region. The frog's neck is quite long, allowing facile lateral head movement. The species range lies from West to Central Africa in the Sahelian savannas.
P. microps is a medium sized frog with an elongated body with red dorsum; flanks and extremities are black, sometimes with red spots. This anuran is plump, exhibiting a blunt snout and a prominent sacral region. The body is elongated and depressed. The adults manifest a very long neck, which allows movement of the head from side to side. Distance of the snout tip–eye is shorter than the interorbital distance. Tympanums are often indistinct, reaching 0.5–0.8 of the eye diameter. Males have a single subgular vocal sac. All adults have rather abbreviated hind legs lacking in webbing. There is an enlarged inner metatarsal tubercle with highly variable size, reaching 0.5–1.1 of the shortest toe length. Tips of fingers and toes enlarged to form round or triangular discs. Adults exhibit a smooth glandular skin (Rödel, 2000).
There is a sexual dimorphism with regard to size, with females being larger than males. Several observers report slightly differing values for the absolute length and mass of the individuals. In one study a 44 millimetre (snout to vent length) female exhibited a body mass of 3.6 grams, whilst a second female manifested a length of 56 mm and body mass of 16.7 grams. Corresponding males of this population showed snout to vent lengths varying from 38 to 44 mm, with body masses ranging from 3.5 to 6.3 grams. In another set of observations by Zug, the size of one year old frogs ranged from 25 to 32 mm, with body masses ranging from 1.4 to 3.5 grams; in that study a gravid female measured 57 mm in body length. Barbault gives average sizes of 45 and 44 mm. According to Hermann, male adults attain an overall length of 45 mm, and females 60 mm (Rödel, 2000).
Amphibian associates of the Accra Snake-necked Frog (Phrynomantis microps) found in the upper Benue Basin within the East Sudanese savanna include the Balfour's Reed Frog (Hyperolius balfouri) also occurs in the upper basin at least up to altitudes of 620 metres and likely higher, but also continuing into the mid-basin. The taxonomically puzzling Banded Banana Frog (Afrixalus fulvovittatus) appears in the upper Benue Basin and likely in lower basin elements. The Marble-legged Frog (Hylarana galamensis) is found in the upper Benue Basin as well as in downriver basin segments (Hogan, 2013).
P. microps inhabits large portions of the West African and Central African savannas. The taxon range stretches from Senegal to Nigeria. In particular, P. microps has been recorded from the following countries: Senegal, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Mali, Benin, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Central African Republic (Rödel, 2000). In particular, a chief ecoregion inhabited by P. microps is the West Sudanian savanna (Hogan, 2013).
P. microps is found in flooded savanna and meadow, in ponds and in swamps, beneath rotting wood, in fossorial habitat under savanna soils, and also occasionally in arboreal habitats (e.g., in the canopy top of palms and other savanna tree species). P. microps is most frequently encountered in subterranean cavities near open water, under rotting tree trunks in open savanna, or on the edges of gallery forests and in forest islands (Rödel, 2000). A major ecoregion of occurrence is the West Sudanian savanna, in particular the vast Niger River Basin (Hogan, 2013).
The amplitude modulated advertisement call of P. microps endures for 1.1 to 2.5 seconds. Each Pulse lasts 0.02–0.03 seconds. The frequency range of calls span the acoustical spectrum from 0.68 to 6.41 kiloHertz. Three to four distinct harmonies are distinguishable, with a dominant frequency centred around 1.26 kHz. The low melodic trill figured by Schiøtz is structurally similar. The calls of P. microps and P. bifasciatus, which were formerly considered synonymous are somewhat distinct (Rödel, 2000).