Tag Archives: Tanzania

Disperis egregia Summerh.

Arc Mountains Disperis Orchid (Disperis egregia)

The Arc Mountains Disperis Orchid was described in 1952, it is, or maybe was, an endemic species of the Eastern Arc Mountains, a mountain range that stretches from Kenya to Tanzania.

The very small species grew terrestrial on mossy rock-faces in dense rainforests at elevations of 900 to about 1050 m. The flowers were pink and appeared on two- to three-flowered inflorescences.

The name of this species appears in listings of extinct and possibly extinct species and is thus mentioned here as well.

*********************

edited: 12.11.2020

Rhipidoglossum orientalis (Mansf.) Szlach. & Olszewski

Eastern Rhipidoglossum Orchid (Rhipidoglossum orientalis)

The Eastern Rhipidoglossum Orchid was described in 2001, apparently on the basis of some old herbarium material.

The species is thought to be (or to have been) endemic to the forests of the Uluguru Mountains in Tanzania; it was obviously last found in 1933 and is believed to be possibly extinct.

*********************

edited: 20.08.2022

Euschmidtia viridifasciata Descamps

Daressalam Monkey Grasshopper (Euschmidtia viridifasciata)

This species was described in 1973, it inhabited lowland rainforests in an area that now is the city of Daressalam at the eastern coast of Tanzania.

The habitat of this species does not longer exist and it is most likely extinct.

*********************

edited: 15.01.2019

Arthroleptis kutogundua Blackburn

Overlooked Squeaker Frog (Arthroleptis kutogundua)

The Overlooked Squeaker Frog was described in 2012, the species bears its name for the fact that the single type specimen was found hidden among fifty to sixty specimens of another frog species, the Rugege Forest Squeaker Frog (Arthroleptis adolfifriederici Nieden), in an ethanol-filled glass put away at some storage rack in the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

The species reached a size of about 4 cm (snout to vent), its coloration is not known because the colors of the type specimen have heavily faded.

The type specimen was collected in 1930 in the Ngozi crater in the Poroto Mountains in Tanzania together with several other frog species. Another specimen popped up in 2013, one year after the species’ description, in the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, Germany.

The Overlooked Squeaker Frog was never found again and is believed to be extinct. [1][2]

*********************

References:

[1] David C. Blackburn: New species of Arthroleptis (Anura: Arthroleptidae) from Ngozi Crater in the Poroto Mountains of southwestern Tanzania. Journal of Herpetology 46(1): 129-135. 2012
[2] Christopher Kemp: Die verlorenen Arten: Große Expeditionen in die Sammlungen naturkundlicher Museen. Verlag Antje Kunstmann GmbH 2019

*********************

edited: 06.09.2019

Triaspis schliebenii A. Ernst

Schlieben’s Triaspis (Triaspis schliebenii)

Schlieben’s Triaspis was described in 1935; it is known only from the type material that was collected somewhere around Lake Lutamba in the Lindi District, Tanzania; it was not found subsequently and is thought to be possibly extinct.

The photo below shows a somewhat similar-looking species, the Blue-leaved Triaspis (Triaspis glaucophyllaEngl.) from southern Africa.

*********************

Blue-leaved Triaspis (Triaspis glaucophylla)

Photo: Francois du Randt
https://www.inaturalist.org/people/francoisdurandt

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

*********************

edited: 21.08.2022

Acrotylus mossambicus Brancsik

South-East African Burrowing Grasshopper (Acrotylus mossambicus)

The South-East African Burrowing Grasshopper was described in 1893, it apparently is widely distributed over parts of Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

The species has apparently not been recorded since 1946 and might be extinct, however, given its wide distribution this assumption seems quite strange.

*********************

edited: 03.11.2020

Aspatharia divaricata (Martens)

Divaricated Lake Mussel (Aspatharia divaricata)

This freshwater mussel species is, or maybe was, endemic to Lake Victoria, where it appears to have inhabited an only about 10 km² large area.

The species was not recorded in recent surveys (actually it has not been recorded for over 100 years), it might have fell victim to the human-induced pollution and sedimentation of the lake and is now very likely extinct.

*********************

edited: 14.11.2021

Stenocypha hasta (Pinhey)

Mahale Jewel (Stenocypha hasta)

The Mahale Jewel, described in 1960, is, or maybe was, restricted to the area around the Mahale Mounatins along the eastern shores of Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania.

The species has apparently not been recorded since its description, and given the increase in human population in that area there is apparently no habitat left and the species might indeed be extinct.

*********************

edited: 25.05.2021

Chromochokwea fitzgeraldi (Uvarov)

Ufipa Flightless Forest Grasshopper (Chromochokwea fitzgeraldi)

The Ufipa Flightless Forest Grasshopper was described in 1953, it is known only from the type specimen that had been collected in 1952 in a ravine with dense matted grass on the Ufipa Plateau ij southwestern Tanzania.

The species was not found since and might be extinct. 

*********************

edited: 03.11.2020

Euschmidtia burtti Descamps

Burtt’s Monkey Grasshopper (Euschmidtia burtti)

Burtt’s Monkey Grasshopper was described in 1964, it is known only from the type collection obtained in 1954.

The type locality, a place named as Kingolwera in the Morogoro District of Tanzania, appears to be heavily deforested now and the species is thought to be extinct.

*********************

edited: 15.01.2019