Werneria

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: ParaHoxozoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Olfactores
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Batrachomorpha
Classis: Amphibia
Subclassis: Lissamphibia
Superordo: Batrachia
Cladus: Salientia
Ordo: Anura

Familia: Bufonidae
Genus: Werneria
Species: W. bambutensis – W. iboundji – W. mertensiana – W. preussi – W. submontana – W. tandyi
Name

Werneria Poche, 1903

Type species: Stenoglossa fulva Andersson, 1903
Synonyms

Stenoglossa Andersson, 1903

References

Poche, 1903, Zool. Anz., 26: 701.
2012: Zootaxa, 3172: 65–68. Preview

Vernacular names
English: Smalltongue Toads
Werneria, also known as the torrent toads[1][2] or smalltongue toads,[1] is a small genus of "true toads", family Bufonidae.[1][2][3] They are found in western Central Africa (Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Cameroon),[1][2] with the greatest species richness in the Western High Plateau of Cameroon.[4] The species generally have restricted or patchy distributions[2][4] and are considered threatened.[4]
Etymology

The genus is named after Franz Werner, Austrian zoologist and herpetologist who was active in Africa.[5]
Description

Werneria are medium-sized toads[2] with a snout-to-vent length between 3 and 5 cm (1.2–2.0 in); females tend to be larger than males.[4] They do not have hearing organs, vocal sacs (they are silent), nor parotoid glands. Skin is smooth. Toe webbing ranges from rudimentary to full. Tadpoles have a short, muscular tail and a flat body with a huge sucker mouth.[2]
Species

Binomial name and author[1][2][3]	Common name
Werneria bambutensis (Amiet, 1972)	Bamboutos smalltongue toad, Bambuto torrent toad
Werneria iboundji Rödel, Schmitz, Pauwels & Böhme, 2004	Iboundji torrent toad
Werneria mertensiana Amiet, 1976	Mertens' smalltongue toad, Mertens' torrent toad
Werneria preussi (Matschie, 1893)	Buea smalltongue toad, Preuss' torrent toad
Werneria submontana Rödel, Schmitz, Pauwels & Böhme, 2004	hill torrent toad
Werneria tandyi (Amiet, 1972)	Tandy's smalltongue toad, Tandy's torrent toad

Habitat

Werneria are associated with torrential forest streams, which also is their breeding habitat. Tadpoles use their sucker mouth to cling to the rocks. Outside the breeding season, adult toads can be found in leaf litter far away from streams. They are known from altitudes between 560–2,600 m (1,840–8,530 ft) [2]
References

Frost, Darrel R. (2016). "Werneria Poche, 1903". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
Channing, Allan & Rödel, Mark-Oliver (2019). Field Guide to the Frogs & other Amphibians of Africa. Cape Town: Struik Nature. pp. 99–101. ISBN 978-1-77584-512-6.
"Bufonidae". AmphibiaWeb. University of California, Berkeley. 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
Rödel, Mark-Oliver; Schmitz, Andreas; Pauwels, Olivier S.G. & Böhme, Wolfgang (2004). "Revision of the genus Werneria Poche, 1903, including the descriptions of two new species from Cameroon and Gabon (Amphibia: Anura: Bufonidae)". Zootaxa. 720 (1): 1–28. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.720.1.1.
Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael & Grayson, Michael (2013). The Eponym Dictionary of Amphibians. Pelagic Publishing. p. 231. ISBN 978-1-907807-42-8.