Arthroleptis tanneri: Tanner’s litter frog

Tanner’s litter frog - Arthroleptis tanneri
( Grandison, 1983 )

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Subspecies:	Unknown
Est. World Population:

CITES Status:	NOT LISTED
IUCN Status:	Endangered
U.S. ESA Status:	NOT LISTED

Body Length:
Tail Length:
Shoulder Height:
Weight:

Top Speed:
Jumping Ability:	(Horizontal)

Life Span:	in the Wild
Life Span:	in Captivity

Sexual Maturity:	(Females)
Sexual Maturity:	(Males)
Litter Size:
Gestation Period:

Habitat:

This species occurs in the leaf-litter of montane forests between 1,400–2,000 m asl. It has not been found outside good forest and therefore might be sensitive to substantial habitat loss or disturbance (IUCN Red Listing Tanzania Group pers. comm. July 2024). There is no information about any other aspect of this species' biology, although it is thought that this frog may breed by direct development based on what is known of other members of this genus (IUCN Red Listing Tanzania Group pers. comm. July 2024).

Range:

This species is currently only known from the West Usambara Mountains in Tanzania (Grandison 1983, Loader et al. 2011). It has been recorded in the following locations; Mazumbai, Magamba Nature Reserve (NR), Baga II Forest Reserve (FR), Balangai, and the historical locality Philipshof (Loader et al. 2011). It is a montane species, with an altitudinal range between 1,400–2,060 m asl. Its extent of occurrence (EOO) and area of occupancy (AOO) is 618 km² and 85 km² respectively. It was last observed in 2022 (J. Lyakurwa, pers. comm. 2024). It is considered to occur in one threat-defined location (IUCN Red Listing Tanzania Group pers. comm. July 2024).

Conservation:

Conservation Actions In-Place
The species is restricted to forests of the West Usambara mountains which are impacted heavily by anthropogenic changes, including deforestation. There are no species-specific conservation actions in place targeting the species, but most of its high elevation sites fall within protected areas.

Conservation Needed
Agricultural encroachment, logging and fire has contributed to large losses of forest and protection is limited. The forest reserves provide some degrees of protection but there is a need for increased protection and improved management across all forest reserves in the West Usambara Mountains (UNEP-WCMC 2024). The sites need to be managed to ensure law enforcement and limit the impacts of human activities on remaining primary forest (IUCN Red Listing Tanzania Group pers. comm. July 2024).

Research Needed
Urgent survey work is required to determine how this species is impacted by these changes. Monitoring efforts on population and habitat are recommended for this species. Studies on the species biology and population status are required to inform on conservation strategies (IUCN Red Listing Tanzania Group pers. comm. July 2024).