The Lake Oku Clawed Frog (Xenopus longipes) is a species of frog

Frog

Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...

 in the Pipidae

Pipidae

The Pipidae are a family of primitive, tongueless frogs. The thirty species in the family Pipidae are found in tropical South America and sub-Saharan Africa ....

 family.

Physical description

Lake Oku Clawed Frogs are small, with males growing to an average of 28-31 mm and females 32-36 mm. The name results from the claws at the ends of its four webbed feet. It is grey or brown in colour, with small black dots. These frogs also have a very small number of chromosomes, only twelve sets. It is fully aquatic.

Distribution

The Lake Oku Clawed Frog lives exclusively in Lake Oku

Lake Oku

Lake Oku is a crater lake on the Bamenda Plateau in the Northwest Region of Cameroon. It is located at on Mount Oku, and is completely surrounded by cloud forest....

, a small crater lake

Crater lake

A crater lake is a lake that forms in a volcanic crater or caldera, such as a maar; less commonly and with lower association to the term a lake may form in an impact crater caused by a meteorite. Sometimes lakes which form inside calderas are called caldera lakes, but often this distinction is not...

 in central Cameroon.

Conservation

The Lake Oku Clawed Frogs are right now critically endangered. It is in a precarious position, as fish species being introduced to the lake could result in the extinction of X. longipes.

The lake it lives in, and the surrounding forest are now a nature reserve, set up by BirdLife International

BirdLife International

BirdLife International is a global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources...

. Conservation breeding populations have been established at several zoos. Antwerp Zoo

Antwerp Zoo

Antwerp Zoo is a zoo in the centre of Antwerp, Belgium, located right next to the Antwerpen-Centraal railway station. It is the oldest animal park in the country, and one of the oldest in the world, established on 21 July 1843.- History :...

is also maintaining an active research program. Efforts are being made by Antwerp Zoo to establish a captive breeding program for X. longipes in range in Cameroon.

Source

• Tinsley, R. & Measey, J. 2004. Xenopus longipes. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 23 July 2007.

Browne RK, Blackburn DC, Doherty-Bone T. 2009. Species profile of the Lake Oku clawed frog (Xenopus longipes). http://www.amphibianark.org/pdf/Husbandry/Species Profile - Xenopus longipes, 9 July .pdf