Ptychadena stenocephala (Boulenger, 1901)
According to Rödel et al. (2004), this form probably comprises several species.
The IUCN Red List (2020) categories this species as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, its presumed large population, and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category (Rödel et al., 2004).
It is present in the Mount Nimba World Heritage Site, and it presumably occurs in several other protected areas (Rödel et al., 2004).
It is unlikely to be facing serious threats, at least in Cameroon, where it seems to be an adaptable species. There is no direct information from elsewhere in its range (Rödel et al., 2004).
Perret (1979) noted that it had frequently been confused with Ptychadena bibroni (= P. mascareniensis).
Vomerine teeth are in two short oblique series commencing from the inner front edges of the choanae. Head is nearly one and a half times as long as broad. Snout is acutely pointed, longer than the diameter of the orbit, and strongly projecting beyond the mouth. The canthus rostralis is feebly marked. the loreal region is concave. Nostrils are midway between the eyes and the end of the snout. The interorbital space is as broad as the upper eyelid. The tympanum is distinct and measures two-thirds or three-fourths the diameter of the eye. The fingers are moderate, and obtusely pointed. The first does not extend beyond the second. The toes are very long, slender and one-third webbed. The web extends to the base or middle of the basal phalanx. The subarticular tubercles are small. A small, oval inner metatarsal tubercle is present. A very small, more or less indistinct outer metatarsal tubercle is present. The tibio-tarsal articulation reaches beyond the tip of the snout. The tibia is approximately two-thirds the length of the head and body. The back has six or eight glandular longitudinal folds with the outer being the strongest. A glandular fold is present beneath the eye to the shoulder (Boulenger, 1901). No middorsal skin ridge is present (Channing and Howell, 2006). Males have two blackish external vocal sacs, projecting through slits below the lower jaw (Boulenger, 1901); the male vocal pouch splits align below the arm (Channing and Howell, 2006).
The dorsum is olive-brown with blackish spots and longitudinal streaks on the body. A black stripe is present from the tip of the snout to the flank, passing through the eye. A broad orange vertebral stripe is often present. The upper lip and outer glandular dorsal fold are yellow in color. No cross-bars are present on the limbs. The venter is white and immaculate. Rödel (2000) states that the anterior part of the vocal sac is black, the rest somewhat brighter.
The snout-vent length of the holotype is 46 mm (Boulenger, 1901). According to Channing and Howell (2006), females are known to be up to 47 mm long, while males are much smaller, at 37 mm.
The diet includes young frogs and various arthropods (Paulian and Vilardebo, 1946).
This range of this species is very imperfectly known. There are definite records from Entebbe in Uganda (the type locality), central Cameroon, and Mount Nimba in Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea. There are published records in addition from Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Ghana and Angola, but it is not certain that these refer to this species. If its distribution is not fragmented, it presumably occurs widely in West African savannahs, in southern Chad, the Central African Republic, northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and southern Sudan. There have been no recent records from Uganda and Mount Nimba, presumably due to the lack of herpetological work in these areas (Rödel et al., 2004).
In Cameroon it lives in savannahs and grasslands, including flooded grassland, avoiding areas with tall grass and other vegetation. It breeds in temporary marshes. On Mount Nimba it is said to live in both forest and savannah (Rödel et al., 2004).
In Cameroon, its abundance is hard to determine, since the species is difficult to capture (Rödel et al., 2004).
In Cameroon, P. stenocephala reproduces throughout the rainy season (May-October; Rödel, 200). The males call towards the end of the night (5–8 h a.m.) and almost to the afternoon during periods of heavy rainfall. However, single males reported to call at full moon in the early hours of the night do not match the above-mentioned observations (Amiet, 1974). In an earlier paper, Amiet (1973) writes that these frogs are diurnal, calling from dawn till noon. The males are said to sit under vegetation near the water. Breeding habitats are temporary ponds (Amiet, 1974).