Leptopelis aubryioides (Andersson 1907)

A small Leptopelis (males 29-36 mm, females 38-43 mm) from the forest of Cameroun and adjacent countries with a fleshy spur on the heel; snout short with rounded canthus rostralis, no particular pigmentation on the subcanthal and loreal region, and no spots on flanks. Dorsum brown with a darker hourglass pattern, sometimes with minute green spots.Leptopelis omissus differs from the sympatric L. calcaratus, the only other form with a spur on the heel, by being smaller, with a less conspicuous tarsal spur, and by its rounded canthus rostralis and red-brown coloration. It differs from L. aubryi by its tarsal spur and a different voice.This Leptopelis is both widespread and abundant in Cameroun and in western R. Congo but hard to collect since it tends to sit high up in trees.This account was taken from "Treefrogs of Africa" by Arne Schiøtz with kind permission from Edition Chimaira (http://www.chimaira.de/) publishers, Frankfurt am Main.

Strictly a forest species but occurs both in dense primary and open secondary forest. Apparently abundantly distributed wherever searched for in forested parts of Cameroun. Also found in eastern Nigeria east of Cross River and in Congo. Probably also distributed further east.

Males call from branches several metres above the ground. Three different calls are known, the most frequently-heard being a brief, nasal "djiimp" emitted at irregular intervals. Another call is a briefer clack, similar to the normal call of L. aubryi. Amiet could not find any significance in the alternation between these calls. The third call is a long cry - rarely heard in nature - which is uttered by the male when he approaches a female. It consists of a small number of figures in slow succession, each composed of a large number of harmonics about 300 cps. apart.

The Kala forest tree frog, Leptopelis omissus, is a species of frog in the family Arthroleptidae found in Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, Gabon, and Nigeria, and possibly Angola, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Equatorial Guinea. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, rivers, swamps, freshwater marshes, and heavily degraded former forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.