Breviceps poweri, the Power's rain frog or Power's short-headed frog, is a species of frog in the family Brevicipitidae. It is found in northeastern Angola east through Zambia, southern Democratic Republic of the Congo (southern Katanga Province), and Malawi, to western Mozambique and northeastern Zimbabwe;[2] possibly in Namibia.[1] The specific name poweri honours John Hyacinth Power, Irish-born director of the McGregor Museum (Kimberley, South Africa) who collected amphibians as well as reptiles and plants.[3]
| Breviceps poweri | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Brevicipitidae |
| Genus: | Breviceps |
| Species: | B. poweri
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| Binomial name | |
| Breviceps poweri Parker, 1934
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Behaviour
editBreviceps poweri emerge after rain to feed on ants, termites, and other arthropods; reproduction also occurs during the rainy season. Breviceps poweri males have been observed to start their chorus in the early evening and continue throughout the night. The call is a short, unpulsed whistle, with a slow rise time and a rapid fall time.[4]
Habitat and conservation
editBreviceps poweri is a fossorial frog in savanna woodland, shrubland and grassland with sandy soils. Because it breeds by direct development, it is not associated with water. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed it as of "Least Concern": it is locally a very common species that occurs in large areas with little human impact, and is present in many protected areas.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2013). "Breviceps poweri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T57718A18362273. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-2.RLTS.T57718A18362273.en. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
- ^ Frost, Darrel R. (2016). "Breviceps poweri Parker, 1934". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
- ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael & Grayson, Michael (2013). The Eponym Dictionary of Amphibians. Pelagic Publishing. p. 171. ISBN 978-1-907807-42-8.
- ^ Minter, Leslie Rory (1999). Aspects of the reproductive biology of Breviceps (Ph.D. thesis). University of the Witwatersrand.
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