BREVIORA Meseum of Comparsitive Zoology Cambridge, Mass. February 15, 1965 Number 21() THE GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION OF THE FROG HY-PEROLIUS MAEM0EATU8 (FAMILY HYPEROLIIDAE) IX RHODESIA, NYASALAND AND TANGANYIKA By R. F. Laurent Mr. Yesey-Fitzgerald has generously provided the Museum of Comparative Zoology with several very interesting series of tree frogs collected in various localities of Rhodesia, Nyasaland and Tanganyika. Some of them belong to the marbled tree frog Hyperolius marvvoratus Rapp, the geographical variation of which is so striking and has already required the recognition of many subspecies. This new material permits a summary of our knowledge of this species in eastern Africa plus some significant additions, including one very distinct new subspecies. Thus far, the marmoratus subspecies recognized in the present area are as follows : orgentovittis Ahl : Shores of Lake Tanganyika. rhodoscelis (Boulenger) : Luapula River drainage and Lake Rukwa, Tanganyika. This is apparently a disjunct range and suggests that Lake Rukwa might have been part of the drainage of the Chambeshi River, which is itself loosely connected with the Luapula drainage through a swampy area south of Lake Bangweolo. lestagei Laurent (a doubtful form) : Lake Bangweolo. mclanolcucus Laurent: Primarily the Lufira basin in the Congo, but samples from Sakania (near the Rhodesian border) show conclusively that its range exceeds the limits of this drainage in a southward direction. nlhorufus Laurent: Recently described (Laurent, 1964) from the Moxico Province, Angola, but also present in the Lua-laba District (southwestern Katanga). This race is likely to be found in the extreme northwestern part of Rhodesia.
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