Degen's toad, Banded toad, Lake victoria toad
Sclerophrys vittata, also known as Degen's toad, banded toad, or Lake Victoria toad, is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is endemic to Uganda, where it is only known from Lira south to Entebbe and the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. This species may possibly be found in Kenya and its range may even extend into Egypt, but the records from northern Egypt are generally regarded as belonging to S. kassasii.
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Jumping (saltation) can be distinguished from running, galloping, and other gaits where the entire body is temporarily airborne by the relatively l...
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starts withSclerophrys vittata is a small toad with long, narrow parotoid glands, distinctive dark-coloured longitudinal stripes and rows of large tubercles on its upper surface, and a bold patterning of red and dark blotches on its underside. In Egypt the snout vent length of the toads varied between 26 and 36 millimeters. No difference was found between males and females concerning body length.
Sclerophrys vittata is found in Uganda and was first described by George Albert Boulenger in 1906. Its range extends from Lira southwards to Entebbe and the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. It has also been reported from Katera in the southern foothills of Mount Kenya, but this record is disputed. Some toads found between 1909 and 1912 near Alexandria in Egypt were originally identified as this species but may have been misidentified. From 1989 to 1991, Akef and Schneider investigated the reproductive behavior and analyzed the calls of Bufo vittatus in Egypt in the Al−Fayoum region. In 1993 a new species of toad was described by Sherif Baha el Din from the Nile Delta as Bufo kassasii, and it is thought the original identification of Sclerophrys vittata from Egypt referred to this new species, also known as the Nile Delta toad. However, it is possible that this species has a wider range including parts of the Nile Valley and into Egypt.
Very little is known about this species and its natural history. It inhabits marshy areas and presumably its larvae are aquatic. Its population status, ecology and the threats it faces are unknown and the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists its conservation status as "data deficient".
