Senegal Kassina

About the Senegal Kassina

Kassina senegalensis, also known as the Senegal running frog, along with many other common names, is a species of frog native to much of Africa. It is a small and solidly-built species with large eyes. Most of the body is greyish-black, but there are brown bands and spots on certain parts. They can be found in many types of habitats, such as shrublands, grasslands, and wetlands, at elevations as high as 2,000 metres (1.2 mi). Their breeding occurs in water, where eggs are laid in various locations and fertilised one by one. They eat a variety of arthropods and secrete peptides from their skin to avoid becoming prey themselves. Their population is assumed to be very large and not in any immediate danger.

Kassina senegalensis was first described in 1841 by André Marie Constant Duméril and Gabriel Bibron as Cystignathus senegalensis. Their description came from specimens that had been collected from ponds in Senegal, sent to them by an individual identified only as Mr. Heudelot. The genus Cystignathus was split into several new genera in 1853 by Charles Frédéric Girard, with senegalensis ending up as the only species of the newly erected genus Kassina. Six other species... Wikipedia →