Herpetology Notes, volume 12: 501-508 (2019) (published online on 19 May 2019)

New records of the Toad, togoensis, from south-eastern Coast

Basseu Aude-Inès Gongomin1, N’Goran Germain Kouamé1,*, and Mark-Oliver Rödel2

Abstract. Reported are new records of the forest toad, Sclerophrys togoensis, from south-eastern . A small population was found in the of Mabi and Yaya Classified Forests. These forests and Taï National Park in the western part of the are the only known and remaining Ivorian of this species. Sclerophrys togoensis is confined to primary and slightly degraded rainforest. Known sites should be urgently and effectively protected from further forest loss.

Keywords. Amphibia, Anura, Bufonidae, Conservation, Distribution, Mabi/Yaya Classified Forests, Upper forest

Introduction In Ivory Coast the known records of S. togoensis are from the Cavally and Haute Dodo Classified Forests The toad Sclerophrys togoensis (Ahl, 1924) has been (Rödel and Branch, 2002), and the Taï National Park described from Bismarckburg in Togo (Ahl, 1924). Apart and its surroundings (e.g. Ernst and Rödel, 2006; Hillers from a parasitological study (Bourgat, 1978), no recent et al., 2008), all situated in the westernmost part of the records are known from that country (Ségniagbeto et al., country (Fig. 1). During a decade of conflict, both 2007; Hillers et al., 2009). Further records have been classified forests have been deforested (P.J. Adeba, pers. published from southern (Kouamé et al., 2007; comm.), thus restricting the species known Ivorian range Hillers et al., 2009), western Ivory Coast (e.g. Rödel and to Taï National Park. Whereas S. togoensis is considered Branch, 2002; Hillers et al., 2008), south-eastern Guinea Near Threatened on the IUCN list (Rödel and Tandy, (Guibé and Lamotte, 1958; Rödel and Bangoura, 2004; 2016), it actually has a wide range, extending from Togo Rödel et al., 2004), and (Hillers and Rödel, to . Its absence in central and eastern Ivory 2007; Rödel and Glos, 2019). It also occurs in eastern Coast, thus seems strange. However, several attempts to Sierra Leone (MOR, unpubl. data), and Sclerophrys find it in areas where remaining forests still prevailed, cristiglans (Inger and Menzies, 1961), described from i.e., the Banco National Park, the Yakassé-Mé village the Tingi Hills in Sierra Leone (Inger and Menzies, forest, and the Tanoé-Ehy swamp forests (e.g. Assemian 1961), might be a synonym of S. togoensis (Rödel and et al., 2006; Kouamé et al., 2014; Kpan et al., 2014), so Bangoura, 2004). All records thus are in the forests of far revealed no record. the forest hotspot (Bakarr et al., 2004), The eastern Ivorian forests are presumed to host habitats west of the , a natural gap in the West of high conservation value in terms of rare and unknown African rainforest zone. biodiversity and ecosystem services (Assemian et al., 2006; Zadou et al., 2011; Kouamé et al., 2014; Kpan et al., 2018). Unfortunately, this geographic is known to be part of the African with the highest rate of (Norris et al., 2010; Mayaux et al., 2013). 1 Université Jean Lorougnon Guédé, UFR Environnement, Thus, we decided to search for S. togoensis in some Laboratoire de Biodiversité et Écologie Tropicale poorly known forests of eastern Ivory Coast. (BioEcoTrop), , BP 150, Côte d´Ivoire. 2 Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Material and Methods Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany. surveys were conducted in the Mabi * Corresponding author. Email: [email protected] Classified Forest (MCF: 5.8000°–5.9833°N, 502 Basseu Aude-Inès Gongomin et al.

Figure 1. Geographical position of known localities of Sclerophrys togoensis in southern Ivory Coast. The inserted figure indicates the position of Ivory Coast on the African . The Cavally Classified Forest (yellow) and the Haute Dodo Classified Forest (purple) have been recently destroyed (compare text); thus the Taï National Park (red); and the Mabi and Yaya Classified Forests (white) remain the only sites where the species is known in Ivory Coast. The remaining rainforest is indicated in dark , the original of Ivory Coast and Ghana is visible as the area in yellow-green surrounding these darker areas (southern half of the country), open broadleaved deciduous forests are given in brown, the mosaic forest-shrubland/ is depicted in light green (northern half of Ivory Coast). Adapted from Arinor et al. (2012).

3.5167°–3.5833°W) and the Yaya Classified Forest forests are bordered by a total of 10 villages: the MCF is (YCF: 5.6167°–5.8000°N, 3.5333°–3.6333°W), two limited in the north by villages Bettié and Biéby, in the neighbouring in south-eastern Ivory Coast centre by Mébifon, and in the west by Nyan, Yapokoi (Fig. 1). The MCF and YCF are parts of the and Kossandji. The YCF is limited by -Comoé, of Alépé, the regional capital of the La Mé . The Alosso and Kloukro in the east and Mopodji in the MCF covers an area of 59,616 ha and is adjacent to the west. Cocoa, and rubber as well as northern part of the YCF (23,877 ha). These lowland subsistence farming, i.e. associated forests have a mean annual temperature of 26°C; the with yams, corns and plantains, dominated large parts mean annual precipitation is 2000 mm. A drier period of this forest zone. However, both forests still comprise extends from December to March, and is followed by a large parts of almost primary forests, with drier and rainy season with highest precipitation between March swampy parts. and July. Rainfall usually is lower between August and Field work was conducted in the dry season for seven September (Eldin, 1971). Along their eastern borders days from 15 to 21 December 2017. Toads were mainly the two forest blocks are limited by the Comoé . located opportunistically during visual encounter Further draining the region are the Kossan and surveys, by one person (BAIG), between 9:00–17:30 Yaya, two tributaries of the Comoé, and other smaller GMT. The total search time amounted to 59.5 person- streams, i.e., Ebohoa, Foussin, N’tchibié, Abouan hours. In all available habitats, search techniques and Kloukro, and brooks. The MCF and YCF are included visual scanning of the terrain and refuge mainly characterized by moist, evergreen forests on examination, which consisted of lifting logs and rocks, predominantly sandy soils, with vegetation typical for and looking around water bodies. The geographical south-eastern Ivorian rainforests (Béligné, 1994). Both positions of all study sites were recorded with a hand- New records of the Togo Toad from south-eastern Ivory Coast 503 held GPS receiver (Garmin etrex 20). Data for Recorded measures are given in mm and comprise characteristics including anthropogenic influence were snout-urostyle-length (SUL), head width at level of jaw collected as well. articulation (HW), length of femur (FL), length of tibia- After capture, toads were measured and sexed, and fibula (TL), length of foot including tarsus and longest either kept as vouchers, or released in their respective toe (FTL), horizontal eye-diameter (ED), inter-orbital habitats. Sex identification was based on throat colour: distance (IOD), distance from anterior corner of eye to males have a dark, almost black throat, females’ nostril (EN), distance from anterior corner of the eye to throats are the lighter. Vouchers were euthanized in a tip of snout (ES), horizontal tympanum-diameter (TD), chlorobutanol solution and thereafter preserved in 75% and inter-nostril distance (IND). ethanol. Vouchers have been deposited in the working collection of NGK at the Université Jean Lorougnon Results Guédé in Daloa (K-MY). Diagnostic characters for In both forests a total of five toads were recorded at identifying the toads as Sclerophrys togoensis were based four sites. Four of them, i.e., K-MY001, K-MY002, on the description by Rödel and Bangoura (2004), and K-MY003 and K-MY004 were retained as vouchers namely comprised shape of parotid glands, distribution while one was released (Fig. 2; Table 1). The records and shape of warts, and colour pattern. Measurements comprised a juvenile at site 1 (MCF: 5.8056°N, of morphological characters were taken by one person 3.5225°W; 177 m a.s.l.), two adult males at site 2 (YCF: (BAIG) with dial callipers (accuracy ± 0.5 mm), and 5.7213°N, 3.5852°W; 91 m a.s.l.), another adult male are given as means with standard deviations (x̅ ± sd). at site 3 (MCF: 5.8116°N, 3.5358°W; 147 m a.s.l.) and

Figure 2. Habitats of Sclerophrys togoensis in eastern Ivory Coast during the dry season; a = stream in a primary part of the Yaya Classified Forest; b = forest with dense leaf-litter within Mabi Classified Forest; c = forest road with water filled tire tracks in degraded forest of the Yaya Classified Forest, these puddles are not used for reproduction by S. togoensis; d = degraded part of the Mabi Classified Forest. Photos by N’Goran Germain Kouamé. 504 Basseu Aude-Inès Gongomin et al.

Table 1. Measurements (mm) of morphological characters of five Sclerophrys togoensis from Mabi and Yaya Classified Forests. Gongomin et al. The Togo Toad in eastern Ivory Coast Given are also mean and standard deviation (xx¯ ± sd), range (Min–Max), separately for adult males and juveniles; for abbreviations of characters see material and methods. Table 1. Measurements (mm) of morphological characters of five Sclerophrys togoensis from Mabi and Yaya Classified Forests. Given are also mean and standard deviation (xࡄ ± sd), range (Min–Max), separately for adult males and juveniles; for abbreviations of characters see material and methods.

SUL HW FL TL FTL ED IOD EN ES TD IND male 1 YCF 71.0 29.0 25.0 30.0 43.0 8.5 14.0 6.5 9.0 8.0 5.0 K-MY001 male 2 YCF 71.5 29.0 24.5 28.5 41.0 9.5 14.5 7.5 9.0 7.5 4.5 K-MY002 male 3 MCF 66.5 28.5 24.0 28.0 40.5 9.5 12.0 5.0 8.5 5.5 4.5 K-MY003 Min–Max 66.5–71.5 28.5–29.0 24.0–25.0 28.0–30.0 40.5–43.0 8.5–9.5 12.0–14.5 5.0–7.5 8.5–9.0 5.5–8.0 4.5–5.0 xࡄ ± sd 69.7 ± 2.7 28.8 ± 0.3 24.5 ± 0.5 28.8 ± 1.0 41.5 ± 1.3 9.2 ± 0.6 13.5 ± 1.3 6.3 ± 1.3 8.8 ± 0.3 7.0 ± 1.3 4.7 ± 0.3 juv. 1 MCF 17.5 6.0 6.5 8.0 10.0 4.0 3.5 2.0 3.0 1.5 1.5 K-MY004 juv. 2 36.0 10.5 11.5 15.5 28.5 5.5 5.5 3.0 4.5 3.0 2.0 MCF Min–Max 17.5–36.0 6.0–10.5 6.5–11.5 8.0–15.5 10.0–28.5 4.0–5.5 3.5–5.5 2.0–3.0 3.0–4.5 1.5–3.0 1.5–2.0 xࡄ ± sd 26.7 ± 13.1 8.2 ± 3.2 9.0 ± 3.5 11.7 ± 5.3 19.2 ± 13.1 4.7 ± 1.1 4.5 ± 1.4 2.5 ± 0.7 3.7 ± 1.1 2.2 ± 1.1 1.7 ± 0.3

a juvenile at site 4 (MCF: 5.8206°N, 3.5657°W; 112 m The morphological measurements from all five S. a.s.l.). The juvenile from site 1 (Fig. 3e) was found near togoensis are summarized in Table 1. The colour pattern dead wood on a small hill. The site was characterized of the recorded specimens was very variable (Figs. 3, 4a). by high canopy cover, sparse undergrowth, and dry The basic colouration of the back varied from brown, 1 multi-layer leaf litter covering the forest ground (Fig. a somewhat dark olive brown to a reddish-brown. A 2b). Sympatric species were the gecko Hemidactylus narrow yellow vertebral line could be present (adults) muriceus Peters, 1870, and three species namely, or absent (juveniles) and usually some symmetrical Arthroleptis poecilonotus-complex (compare comment pairs of blackish and/or whitish spots were present (Fig. in Rödel and Bangoura, 2004), Phrynobatrachus alleni 3). Adults had a V-shaped dark interorbital marking. Parker, 1936, and P. annulatus Perret, 1966. At site 2 The warts on flanks of adult toads varied in size, were one male (Fig. 3a, b) was recorded in a dense forest, thorny, and widely spaced. A dense area of prominent intersected by a small stream (Fig. 2a), while another warts could be found above the angles of the mouth. The male (Fig. 3c) was found close to a temporary pond skin on the back was smooth. The parotid glands were on a forest road. The forest at that site had large gaps in or almost in contact with the eyelids. The glands were in the canopy (Fig. 2c). Sympatric species at this site straight, narrow, angular and ran parallel to the side of were A. poecilonotus-complex, P. alleni and P. plicatus the body. Sometimes they were less well-defined and (Günther, 1858). At site 3, a male (Fig. 3d) was found in hard to see. The venter in adults was granular, beige to a degraded and dry part of the forest with no water bodies yellow (Fig. 3a). nearby (Fig. 2d), at the edge of an illegal plantation, cultivating plantain and cassava. Sympatric species at Discussion this site were A. poecilonotus-complex and the skink Trachylepis affinis (Gray, 1838). At site 4, a juvenile Despite its relatively wide distributional range in West (Fig. 3f) was seen near dead wood on a forest trail. Here west of the Dahomey Gap, the known Ivorian the vegetation comprised tall trees with a closed canopy. records of S. togoensis were restricted to three forests No water bodies were observed in this habitat and the in south-westernmost Ivory Coast (Rödel and Branch, co-occurring with S. togoensis were only from the 2002; Ernst and Rödel, 2006; Hillers et al., 2008). A. poecilonotus-complex. Meanwhile, as a consequence of total deforestation, two New records of the Togo Toad from south-eastern Ivory Coast 505

Figure 3. Colour pattern variation of Sclerophrys togoensis from south-eastern Ivory Coast (Yaya Classified Forest: a and b = K-MY001; c = K-MY002; Mabi Classified Forest: d = K-MY003; e = K-MY004; f = juvenile specimen, released after measurements). Photos by N’Goran Germain Kouamé.

of these forests, the Cavally and Haute Dodo Classified far; this includes Lamto Forest Reserve (Lamotte, 1967; Forests, no longer exist (P.J. Adeba, pers. comm.), Adeba et al., 2010), Banco National Park (Assemian et which is a worrying continuation of a development of al., 2006), the village forests of Yakassé-Mé (Kouamé forest loss that has been observed for many years in this et al., 2014), and Tanoé-Ehy swamp forests (Kpan et al., region (Chatelain et al., 1996). Anuran assessments in 2014). This was particularly puzzling, as the species is other Ivorian forests stretching from central to south- known from the Ankasa National Park in south-western eastern Ivory Coast have failed to detect S. togoensis so Ghana (Hillers et al., 2009), a region which shares a 506 Basseu Aude-Inès Gongomin et al.

Figure 4. Morphologically similar toads from Ivory Coast: a and b) Sclerophrys togoensis with narrow, straight and angular parotid glands (a = male K-MY001, from Yaya Classified Forest; b = male from Taï National Park); c and d) with flat, roundish and granular parotid glands (c = male from Yakassé-Mé forest; d = male from Daloa); e and f) Sclerophrys regularis with prominent, roundish and comparatively smooth parotid glands (e and f = females from Daloa); S. togoensis also has a shorter and more blunt snout than the other two species. Photos by N’Goran Germain Kouamé.

high faunal similarity with south-eastern Ivory Coast in south-eastern Ivory Coast. concerning frogs, e.g. Astylosternus laticephalus (Rödel In MCF and YCF, we found S. togoensis in a patch et al., 2012), Hyperolius laurenti and H. viridigulosus of a primary forest and three other sites with varying (Schiøtz, 1999). Here we close a gap in the distribution states of forest degradation (Fig. 2). Similar habitat of S. togoensis, by adding to its known range two forests preferences have been reported from western Ivory New records of the Togo Toad from south-eastern Ivory Coast 507

Coast, Liberia and Guinea, where S. togoensis inhabits thus be considered Endangered. A more in-depth study true primary forests as well as slightly degraded and of the population sizes, population genetics and the fragmented forests (Rödel and Branch, 2002; Rödel and microhabitat preferences of this species and protection Bangoura, 2004; Hillers and Rödel, 2007; Hillers et al., of its habitats is urgently needed. Field work in the wet 2008). However, the toad seems to be more common in season may provide further useful data. primary forests, where it can often be found in the leaf- litter of drier parts with gravel, far from open water, or Acknowledgements. We are indebted to the “Société pour close to slow flowing forest streams, both on sandy soil le Développement des Forêts (SODEFOR)” for the research permit. We like to acknowledge the local chiefs and elders of the and rocks (Rödel et al., 2004; Ernst and Rödel, 2006; villages of Kossandji and Mopodji for their hospitality. We are Hillers et al., 2008; Rödel and Glos, 2019). Sclerophrys also indebted to support from the project REDD+ de La Mé, Côte togoensis reproduces during the beginning of the dry d’Ivoire. We are particularly grateful to Yao Yves Constant Adou, season in clear, shallow forest streams (Rödel and Bi Tra Aimé Vroh, Kouamé Bertin Akpatou, Dibié Bernard Ahon Bangoura, 2004; MOR unpubl. data). Its tadpole has and Hilaire Bohoussou for arranging the logistics. Our gratitude been described by Channing et al. (2012) and it has no goes to our local guides for their invaluable help during field work. We thank Alan Channing and two anonymous referees for special morphological adaptations to running water. comments which improved an earlier version of the manuscript. 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(2012): Global Land Cover Map for 2009 parotid shape allows for easy identification of these toad (GlobCover 2009). European Space Agency and Université Catholique de Louvain. doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.787668. species (Fig. 4). Assemian, N.E., Kouamé, N.G., Tohé, B., Gourène, G., Rödel, The size of S. togoensis males from the MCF and YCF M.-O. (2006): The anurans of the Banco National Park, Côte exceeded the known size of males from the Cavally and d’Ivoire, a threatened West African rainforest. Salamandra 42: Haute Dodo Classified Forests, as well as from Pic de 41–51. Fon Classified Forest (Rödel and Branch, 2002; Rödel Bakarr, M., Oates, J.F., Fahr, F., Parren, M., Rödel, M.-O., Demey, and Bangoura, 2004). However, otherwise our toads R. 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