title: Systematics of the poorly known treefrogLeptopelis fiziensis(Anura: Arthroleptidae), with a description of its call.
abstract: Leptopelis fiziensiswas described as a subspecies ofL. modestusfrom specimens that were collected in 1956 in the region in and around Fizi, in present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo. We recently discoveredL. fiziensisin transitional and montane forest near the type locality and the southeastern Itombwe Plateau, respectively. A phylogenetic analysis (16S mitochondrial sequence data) of these samples and otherLeptopelisspecies recoveredL. fiziensisas sister toL. karissimbensiswith strong support, and rejected a close relationship betweenL. fiziensisand both topotypicL. modestusfrom Cameroon andL. mackayifrom Kenya. Herein, we provide a detailed description of the morphometrics, colour pattern, male advertisement call and natural history of this poorly known species. At least one literature record ofL. fiziensisfrom Tanzania has notable differences from our data, and requires further study to ascertain its taxonomic status.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W. University Avenue, El Paso, TX 79968, USA.
authors.forename: Eli
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Greenbaum
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Portillo
authors.forename: Chifundera
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kusamba
keywords: Amphibia; Central Africa; Itombwe Plateau; transitional forest