Pyxicephalus Differences

[Kevin1]

Thanks a lot Terry This will help us all a great deal.


As for the "tanzanian subspecies" I'm thinking someone must have been very confused(me!). I was told about it when I first really started to research pyxies. So I started searching for information on it. Needless to say I didn't find much..For awhile I thought it might be P.Adspersus Angusticeps...Now I think the people that told me about this "Tanzanian subspecies" were just as confused as I. lol

[tgampper]

Thank you all for the kind comments. I used to keep P. adspersus a few years back and since moved on to other species. However, all the commotion going on among African bullfrog keepers has got me interested again. The guide is only a beginning. As I collect more information about this group, I will update the article. I would appreciate any assistance you can give me. Thanks

[tgampper]

Thanks a lot Terry This will help us all a great deal.


As for the "tanzanian subspecies" I'm thinking someone must have been very confused(me!). I was told about it when I first really started to research pyxies. So I started searching for information on it. Needless to say I didn't find much..For awhile I thought it might be P.Adspersus Angusticeps...Now I think the people that told me about this "Tanzanian subspecies" were just as confused as I. lol

Hi Kevin,

Ahhh, the famous P. adspersus angusticeps It seems that in 1982, some scientist named C. R. Parry decided to revise the genus Pyxicephalus. See if this is confusing:

Pyxicephalus adspersus edulis (Parry, 1982)
Pyxicephalus adspersus angusticeps (Parry, 1982)
Pyxicephalus adspersus (Parry, 1982)

So is P. edulis a subspecies or a distinct species or even the same species as P. adspersus?

Alan Channing (1994) says that P. edulis differs by its call, behavior, smaller size, shorter dorsal ridges and smoother skin. Lambiris (1989) considers P. edulis a subspecies and points out the following distinctive features: white spot on tympanum, bars on the upper lip and interorbital stripe (as mentioned in my article).

[onedge30]

Kevin,

Yea, that whole renaming with the adspersus in each name is crazy. I think in my research found that that is now considered obsolete and not listed in the current taxonomy. I think that was Red List.

[Kevin1]

Hi Kevin,

Ahhh, the famous P. adspersus angusticeps It seems that in 1982, some scientist named C. R. Parry decided to revise the genus Pyxicephalus. See if this is confusing:

Pyxicephalus adspersus edulis (Parry, 1982)
Pyxicephalus adspersus angusticeps (Parry, 1982)
Pyxicephalus adspersus (Parry, 1982)

So is P. edulis a subspecies or a distinct species or even the same species as P. adspersus?

Alan Channing (1994) says that P. edulis differs by its call, behavior, smaller size, shorter dorsal ridges and smoother skin. Lambiris (1989) considers P. edulis a subspecies and points out the following distinctive features: white spot on tympanum, bars on the upper lip and interorbital stripe (as mentioned in my article).

Ah..So according to Parry, P. A. Angusticeps was distinct from P. A. Edulis?.. I find that interesting.
I know that name is obsolete now..but do you know of any information that distinguished Angusticeps from the others?(adspersus, edulis, etc)

I appreciate all the information you have shared with us thus far, Terry.

Thank you all for the kind comments. I used to keep P. adspersus a few years back and since moved on to other species. However, all the commotion going on among African bullfrog keepers has got me interested again. The guide is only a beginning. As I collect more information about this group, I will update the article. I would appreciate any assistance you can give me. Thanks

Let me know if there's anything I can do to assist you. I'd be happy to help.

[tgampper]

Hi Kevin/Jeff:

Yeah, it's really confusing since much of the literature is obsolete. I think the confusion lies with the three distinct trends of thought concerning the genus Pyxicephalus. One side says that there is only two species in the genus: P. adspursus and P. obbianus; leaving P. edulis just another form of P. adspursus. Second, that P. adspursus and P. edulis are subspecies; and the third that there are three distinct species. I am going to side with Channing, Carruthers and Roedel and say that there are three species.

BTW, Pyxicephalus adspersus edulis (Parry, 1982) and Pyxicephalus adspersus angusticeps (Parry, 1982) are synonyms of P. edulus. My head is spinning

[onedge30]

Alright, Terry. Now that we have your head spinning, how about your eyes crosssing!

Here is something I have been working on. I think they are correct. I had trouble understanding the interorbital bar.

[tgampper]

WOW!

That's great Your photos and annotations are spectacular. One problem, it is P. edulis that has the interorbital bar. The interorbital bar is a faded, light stripe that goes across the top of the head connecting the two eyes, kinda like: 0----0. I think a great African bullfrog guide can be written if we pool all of our resources together. If you or others would like to volunteer, let me know. Thanks!

[tgampper]

Pyxicephalus obbianus Calabresi, 1927

Endemic to Somalia
Description: similar to P. adspursus; tympanum larger than the eye and lies very close to it. Some individuals lack the vertebral stripe.

[John]

Jeff, are you sure that's an edulis? It doesn't look like it to me - looks like something else.

[tgampper]

Jeff, are you sure that's an edulis? It doesn't look like it to me - looks like something else.

Well, John, looks like we have a lot of work to be done. Hopefully, we can get enough people involved so we can identify these frogs properly.

[Malachi]

My P. Edulis,

I believe it is male?

[tgampper]

Thanks, Malachi, for your great pix of P.edulis. If you would like to contribute to our project, you are most welcome.

I will be busy today and won't be back until this evening. I will look in all my African field guides for a good description on P. edulis. I also have Roedel's book which has a detailed description of edulis.

[nerodia]

hello

i'm new to this forum and am trying to load the id page up for pyxies that is listed in this page but I can't get it to work
http://xenopus.freeshell.org/abig.doc

does anyone have a pdf they can send me?

stuart

[BG]

i CAN SEEM TO GET IT EITHER SO DO I HAVE A EDIBLE FROG OR A NEW SPECIES

[Joe M]

I would like to see the finished product as well, but this is an awesome thread already. The pictures and distinctive traits have helped me out a ton.