A new critically endangered slippery frog (Amphibia, Conrauidae, Conraua) from the Atewa Range, central Ghana.

Forty-nine years after the last description of a slippery frog, we describe a seventh species of the genus Conraua. The new Conraua is endemic to the Atewa Range Forest Reserve, central Ghana, and is described based on genetic, bioacoustics, and morphological evidence. Recent molecular phylogenetic and species delimitation analyses support this population as distinct from nominotypical C. derooi in eastern Ghana and adjacent Togo. The new species is sister to C. derooi, from which it differs ~4% in the DNA sequence for mitochondrial ribosomal 16S. Genetic divergences in 16S to other species of Conraua range from 412%. The new species is distinguished morphologically from its congeners, including C. derooi, by the combination of the following characters: medium body size, robust limbs, lateral dermal fringing along edges of fingers, cream ventral color with brown mottling, the presence of a lateral line system, indistinct tympanum, the presence of inner, outer, and middle palmar tubercles, and two subarticular tubercles on fingers III and IV. We compare the advertisement calls of the new species with the calls from C. derooi and find that they differ by duration, frequency modulation, and dominant frequency. We discuss two potential drivers of speciation between C. derooi and the new species, including river barriers and fragmentation of previously more widespread forests in West Africa. Finally, we highlight the importance of the Atewa Range Forest Reserve as a critical conservation area within the Upper Guinean biodiversity hotspot.

Monitoring data of marine turtles on the Togolese coast during 2012-2013.

This dataset contains information on the presence and distribution of sea turtles in Togo. Observations were carried out through a network of ten ecoguards (local guides), facilitated by five fishermen, and coordinated by a field technician, all under the supervision of a scientific coordinator. Data on the occurrence or direct observation of sea turtles on the Togolese coast from September 2012 to August 2013 is presented based on 740 occurrences.

Annotated checklist and fisheries interactions of cetaceans in Togo, with evidence of Antarctic minke whale in the Gulf of Guinea.

Based on strandings and captures, 9 cetacean species, including 6 odontocetes and 3 mysticetes, are documented (photos and specimens) in Togo's coastal waters (newly-recorded species marked with an asterisk): Antarctic minke whale (Balaenoptera bonaerensis*), Bryde's whale (Balaenoptera brydei or B. edeni), humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps*), short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus*), pantropical spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata*), common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and common dolphin Delphinus sp. An anecdotal sighting record for killer whale (Orcinus orca) is considered reliable. The lack of Sousa teuszii records in Togo is consistent with its apparent contemporaneous absence in Ghana. The B. bonaerensis specimen, entangled in a purse seine set on small pelagics, is a first record for the Gulf of Guinea. The occurrence of this Southern Ocean species north of the equator underscores the severe gaps in our understanding of cetacean distribution off western Africa. The majority of artisanal fishermen operating in Togolese coastal waters are of Ghanaian origin and are thought to promote trade and consumption of cetacean bushmeat. Because captures are illegal, enforced with some success in the main fishing centers, covert landings of cetaceans are exceedingly difficult to monitor, quantify or sample. Concern is expressed about pollution of Togo's coastal waters with heavy metals due to phosphorite mining and export from the coastal basin near Hahotoé and Kpogamé.