A new cryptic Phrynobatrachus species (Amphibia: Anura: Phrynobatrachidae) from Ghana, West Africa

A new medium-sized Phrynobatrachus species from primary forest in south-western Ghana is described. Phrynobatrachus intermedius sp. nov. exhibits a combination of unique morphological and color characters including: compact body, short and pointed snout, a conspicuous dark face mask that covers the loreal and the tympanal area, a relatively smooth dorsum with only very feebly developed dorsal ridges, a black throat with few small white spots, a breast with blackish vermiculation, and moderately developed webbing. Furthermore, the analysis of mitochondrial 16S rRNA revealed that this new species differs from other West African species of the genus by a minimum distance of 3.4%. The new species is morphologically most similar to P. liberiensis (genetic distance 3.4–5.8 %) and P. plicatus (> 10% difference in the 16S rRNA fragment examined). P. liberiensis from the type locality of the new species are genetically more distant to the new species than those from other West African localities.