Hyperolius leucotaenius Laurent 1950

A medium-sized Hyperolius (female type 31 mm) from eastern R. D. Congo. Dorsum green with light dorsolateral lines, bordered with black. Ventrum bright green, yellow medially. Red hands and feet. Sometimes fine dark spots on dorsum. Pupil horizontal (Schiøtz 1999).First described by Laurent (1950).H. leucotaenius may, according to Laurent, be a southern vicariate of H. chrysogaster (Schiøtz 1999).This account was taken primarily from "Treefrogs of Africa" by Arne Schiøtz with kind permission from Edition Chimaira (http://www.chimaira.de/) publishers, Frankfurt am Main.

Occurs in transition forests in the southern Itombwe Highlands and northern slopes of the Kabobo Highlands in eastern R. D. Congo, from 1,850-2,000 m asl (Stuart et al. 2008). Found along rivers (Greenbaum, pers. comm.)

Larval development presumably occurs in water, although this has not been confirmed (Stuart et al. 2008).

The population trend is unknown, but this species is likely to be threatened by habitat loss due to increased agriculture, grazing, and human settlements. It is not known to occur within any protected areas (Stuart et al. 2008). It had not been recorded between its description in 1950 and its rediscovery in 2011 by an expedition led by Eli Greenbaum of the University of Texas El Paso.

Hyperolius leucotaenius is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae. It is endemic to Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, swamps, freshwater marshes, and intermittent freshwater marshes. It is threatened by habitat loss.

At one time thought to be extinct, in 2011 Hyperolius leucotaenius was found and photographed on the banks of the Elila River, a tributary of the Lualaba.