Callulina

Callulina dawida

Callulina is a frog species from the family Brevicipitidae. The genus is endemic to the mountain ranges along the East African Rift in Kenya and Tanzania.

Description

The pupils are horizontal. The tongue is broadly elliptic, entire and free behind lifted. In contrast to other genera of the family Brevicipitidae Callulina has only one row of teeth palate. The eardrum is in some ways difficult to detect because it is covered by a granular skin, at Callulina shengena and Callulina laphami it is entirely absent.

Fingers and toes are short and widened significantly at their tips and have something widened bony phalanges. On fingers and toes not webbed exists. Praecoracoide are available, but only weakly developed. The Omosternum is very small and cartilaginous. The sternum is a cartilage plate. The transverse processes of the sacral vertebra are strongly broadened.

The types Callulina shengena, Callulina meteora and Callulina hanseni have large glands on the extremities, give this a clumsy appearance. Of these glands a slimy substance is dispensed, of which it is assumed that it is toxic. These glands are pale in C. meteora relatively bright metallic sheen, in C. shengena and stained hanseni normal in C..

Occurrence

The genus occurs in the mountain range of the Eastern Arc Mountains of Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa. The Pare Mountains, the Usambara Mountains and the Uluguru mountain range and the Nguru and Udzungwa mountains along the East African Rift are localities of the species described and some not yet described the genus Callulina. The species are endemic to relatively small mountain ranges. They live in areas of the hill country level through the montane altitudinal zone to the high mountain stage in more than 2200 meters above sea level.

Way of life

Little is known about the habits of these frog species. Some specimens were observed during the day while digging in the soft earth and leaf litter under large trees. The highly keratinized cusps of the metatarsal bones also point to a way of life on and in the soil.

For the reproductive strategy of these frogs are also scarce observations, it is believed that the larvae develop in the fertilized eggs directly into finished frogs and then hatch. A few large eggs, which were found at a section in the oviduct of a female, point to this development.

System

The genus was first described in 1911 by Fritz Callulina Nieden. It includes 9 species:

  • Callulina dawida Loader, Measey, de Sá & Malonza, 2009
  • Callulina hanseni Loader, Gower, Müller & Menegon, 2010
  • Callulina kanga loader, Gower, Müller & Menegon, 2010
  • Callulina kisiwamsitu de Sá, Loader & Channing, 2004
  • Callulina kreffti Nieden, 1911
  • Callulina laphami Loader, Gower, Ngalason & Menegon, 2010
  • Callulina meteora Menegon, Gower & Loader, 2011
  • Callulina shengena Loader, Gower, Ngalason & Menegon, 2010
  • Callulina stanleyi Loader, Gower, Ngalason & Menegon, 2010
Lissamphibia Interdigital webbing Uluguru Mountains Nguru Mountains Fallopian tube
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