Phrynobatrachus pakenhami is a 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...

 species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 in the true frog

True frog

The true frogs, family Ranidae, have the widest distribution of any frog family. They are abundant throughout most of the world, occurring on most continents except Antarctica...

 subfamily Petropedetinae

Petropedetinae

Petropedetinae are a subfamily of frogs. They are placed in the true frog family by many authors. But this is quite disputed and at least part of this group is often treated as a distinct family Petropedetidae, in which case the Cacosterninae and Phrynobatrachinae are usually separated as...

. This is sometimes treated as an independent family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Petropedetidae, in which case the genus Phrynobatrachus

Phrynobatrachus

The dwarf puddle frogs or African puddle frogs make up the genus Phrynobatrachus with over 70 species. These Afrotropical true frogs are placed in the subfamily Petropedetinae, which some authors consider a distinct family...

is occasionally placed in a distinct family Phrynobatrachidae. Despite the uncertainties surrounding its systematics

Systematics

Biological systematics is the study of the diversification of terrestrial life, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees...

, the taxonomy

Taxonomy

Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...

 of P. pakenhami remains unchanged since this species was first described almost 70 years ago.

This small frog is endemic to Pemba Island off Tanzania

Tanzania

The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

. Its natural habitat

Habitat

* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...

s are subtropical

Subtropics

The subtropics are the geographical and climatical zone of the Earth immediately north and south of the tropical zone, which is bounded by the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, at latitudes 23.5°N and 23.5°S...

 or tropical moist lowland forest

Forest

A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

s, swamp

Swamp

A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...

s, freshwater marsh

Marsh

In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....

es, intermittent freshwater marches, and heavily degraded former forest. It is threatened by habitat loss and may have already disappeared outside the Ngezi Forest Reserve

Ngezi Forest Reserve

The Ngezi Forest Reserve is a forest reserve located in Pemba island . It covers an area of 1440 hectars, mostly comprising primary forest. The reserve was established in 1959.-Geography:...

.

P. pakenhami is sometimes considered to be the same species as P. acridoides

Phrynobatrachus acridoides

Phrynobatrachus acridoides is a species of frog in the Petropedetidae family.It is found in Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, possibly Swaziland, possibly Uganda, and possibly Zambia....

; though very similar in appearance, they differ in habitat

Habitat

* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...

 preference and mating calls (suggesting well-established reproductive isolation

Reproductive isolation

The mechanisms of reproductive isolation or hybridization barriers are a collection of mechanisms, behaviors and physiological processes that prevent the members of two different species that cross or mate from producing offspring, or which ensure that any offspring that may be produced is not...

). On the other hand, the recently-described supposed diminutive species P. nigripes was simply based on juveniles of P. pakenhami.