Bladder Reed Frog

A Hyperolius from montane Kenya, males medium (23-28 mm), females large (30-36 mm). Similar to H. montanus but distinguished by the presence of a silvery-white opaque bladder visible through the ventral skin and by the presence of pectoral, brachial and digital glands in males. Pupil horizontal. Colour in females: dorsum opaque mustard yellow to orange or mustard brown, uniform or mottled. Lateral areas sometimes with a border of white or black or both. Hidden parts of limbs translucent blue, or rarely translucent pink. Males similar, but ventrum more often translucent pink. Some specimens from Meru have a green to green-gold dorsum.Sympatric with but reproductively isolated from H. montanus.This account was taken from "Treefrogs of Africa" by Arne Schiøtz with kind permission from Edition Chimaira (http://www.chimaira.de/) publishers, Frankfurt am Main.

Open farmland and grassland at rather high altitudes. Recorded from a number of localities in montane Kenya, from Limuru to Thompson's Falls and Nyambeni Mts., most often together with H. montanus.

The males call from some distance from the edge of ponds, from low bushes and grass. The voice of H. cystocandicans is a series of brief quiet clacks, audibly different from the longer screams of H. montanus.The eggs are cream-coloured with a black pole. Investigated females carried 120 to 260 eggs. Development from eggs to metamorphosis lasts 80-90 days.

Hyperolius cystocandicans is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae. It is endemic to Kenya. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, arable land, pastureland, and ponds. It is threatened by habitat loss.