Sunday 19 May
Kivu tree frog (Leptopelis kivuensis)

What’s the World’s Favourite Species?
Find out here.Kivu tree frog fact file
- Description
- Biology
- Range
- Habitat
- Status
- Threats
- Conservation
- Find out more
- Glossary
- References
- Print factsheet
Kivu tree frog description
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Amphibia |
| Order | Anura |
| Family | Hyperoliidae |
| Genus | Leptopelis (1) |
A diminutive species, the Kivu tree frog has a brown upper body with irregular darker markings (2). Like many other tree-dwelling frogs, this species’ digits end in broad, circular adhesive pads, which aid climbing (3). The male Kivu tree frog possesses a white inflatable throat pouch, known as a gular sac, and makes a quiet call, consisting of a rapid series of three to four “clacks” (2).
- Size
- Length: 33 – 36 mm (2)
Kivu tree frog biology
Little is currently known about the Kivu tree frog’s biology. It is believed to feed upon soft-bodied insects, sitting in wait for its prey to come near, before making a rapid, open-mouthed lunge (3) (4). Like its relative, Leptopelis modestus, the male probably attracts a mate by making its call and displaying its throat (3). The Kivu tree frog’s reproduction involves the female burying the eggs in underground nests near to standing water. The onset of heavy rains triggers the eggs to hatch, and the resulting flooding washes the tadpoles into the nearby water body (1) (5).
TopKivu tree frog range
The Kivu tree frog’s range is centred around Lake Kivu, with populations found in the highlands of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, western Rwanda, north-western Burundi, and south-western Uganda (1).
TopKivu tree frog habitat
The Kivu tree frog occupies high-altitude mountain forest (2), probably above elevations of 1,500 metres (1).
TopKivu tree frog status
Classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List (1).
TopKivu tree frog threats
The main threat to the Kivu tree frog appears to be habitat clearance for agriculture, human settlement and wood extraction. With its relatively limited range and declining population, it is likely that, without intervention, this species may soon have its IUCN Red List status upgraded to Vulnerable (1).
TopKivu tree frog conservation
While there are no specific conservation measures in place for the Kivu tree frog at present, it does occur in three protected sites: Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Kibale and Bwindi National Parks in Uganda (1). Bwindi National Park has had notable success in preventing the encroachment of agriculture and illegal forest clearance that has been severely problematic for other National Parks in the area (6). This enforcement will help to provide a valuable refuge for unique species such as the Kivu tree frog.
TopFind out more
To learn more about Bwindi National Park visit:
- United Nations Environment Programme:
http://www.unep-wcmc.org/medialibrary/2011/06/28/1f6619d0/Bwindi.pdf
Authentication
This information is awaiting authentication by a species expert, and will be updated as soon as possible. If you are able to help please contact: arkive@wildscreen.org.ukTopReferences
- IUCN Red List (January, 2008)
http://www.iucnredlist.org - AmphibiaWeb (December, 2008)
http://amphibiaweb.org/cgi-bin/amphib_query?query_src=aw_search_index&table=amphib&special=one_record&where-genus=Leptopelis&where-species=kivuensis - Burnie, D. (2001) Animal. Dorling Kindersley, London.
- Vonesh, J. (2001) Natural history and biogeography of the amphibians and reptiles of Kibale National Park, Uganda. Contemporary Herpetology, 4: 1 - 14.
- Halliday, T. and Adler, K. (2002) The New Encyclopedia of Reptile and Amphibians. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
- United Nations Environment Programme (May, 2009)
http://www.unep-wcmc.org/sites/wh/pdf/Bwindi.pdf
More »Related species
Close
Link to this photo
Embed this ARKive thumbnail link by copying and pasting the code below.
Terms of Use - The displayed thumbnail may be used as a link from your website to ARKive's online content for private, scientific, conservation or educational purposes only. It may NOT be used within Apps.
Read more about
Close
MyARKive
MyARKive offers the scrapbook feature to signed-up members, allowing you to organize your favourite ARKive images and videos and share them with friends.
Close
Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials
Copyright in this website and materials contained on this website (Material) belongs to Wildscreen or its licensors.
Visitors to this website (End Users) are entitled to:
- view the contents of, and Material on, the website;
- download and retain copies of the Material on their personal systems in digital form in low resolution for their own personal use;
- teachers, lecturers and students may incorporate the Material in their educational material (including, but not limited to, their lesson plans, presentations, worksheets and projects) in hard copy and digital format for use within a registered educational establishment, provided that the integrity of the Material is maintained and that copyright ownership and authorship is appropriately acknowledged by the End User.
End Users shall not copy or otherwise extract, alter or manipulate Material other than as permitted in these Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials.
Additional use of flagged material
Green flagged material 
Certain Material on this website (Licence 4 Material) displays a green flag next to the Material and is available for not-for-profit conservation or educational use. This material may be used by End Users, who are individuals or organisations that are in our opinion not-for-profit, for their not-for-profit conservation or not-for-profit educational purposes. Low resolution, watermarked images may be copied from this website by such End Users for such purposes. If you require high resolution or non-watermarked versions of the Material, please contact Wildscreen with details of your proposed use.
Creative commons material
Certain Material on this website has been licensed to Wildscreen under a Creative Commons Licence. These images are clearly marked with the Creative Commons buttons and may be used by End Users only in the way allowed by the specific Creative Commons Licence under which they have been submitted. Please see http://creativecommons.org for details.
Any other use
Please contact the copyright owners directly (copyright and contact details are shown for each media item) to negotiate terms and conditions for any use of Material other than those expressly permitted above. Please note that many of the contributors to ARKive are commercial operators and may request a fee for such use.
Save as permitted above, no person or organisation is permitted to incorporate any copyright material from this website into any other work or publication in any format (this includes but is not limited to: websites, Apps, CDs, DVDs, intranets, extranets, signage, digital communications or on printed materials for external or other distribution). Use of the Material for promotional, administrative or for-profit purposes is not permitted.













