Account
What the sources say about this taxon, as written.
diagnosis · 
Plazi
Diagnosis. The new species is similar to all other species of sand frogs in morphology and burrowing behaviour. It has an advertisement call of a rapidly-repeated series of high-pitched notes, the most common type of vocalisation in sand frogs. We assign it to the genus Tomopterna based on the presence of teeth on the maxilla, the inner metatarsal tubercle strongly flanged, the outer metatarsals bound into the sole, and the presence of vomerine teeth, all characters that distinguish the genus Tomopterna ( Poynton 1964 ) and the similarity of 16S rRNA sequences. The new species has single subarticular tubercles under the toes, distinguishing it from those with divided tubercles: T. ahli , T. branchi , T. delalandii , T. elegans , T. gallmanni , T. kachowskii , T. krugerensis , T. luganga , T. marmorata , T. monticola , T. tandyi , T. tuberculosa and T. wambensis . It has more than three phalanges of the fourth toe free of web, distinguishing it from those with more webbing: T. cryptotis , T. elegans , T. gallmanni , T. luganga , T. marmorata , T. milletihorsini , T. monticola , T. tandyi and T. wambensis . There is a continuous row of glands below the tympanum, distinguishing it from T. branchi , T. delalandii and T. marmorata which have a row of isolated glands, and T. luganga , T. milletihorsini , T. monticola , and T. wambensis which have interrupted rows of glands. This feature is variable in T. elegans , T. gallmanni , T. kachowskii , T. pulchra and T. tuberculosa . The tympanum is distinct, distinguishing it from those with a hidden tympanum: T. adiastola , T. cryptotis , T. milletihorsoni and T. tandyi . The nostrils are closer to the snout tip than to the eyes, distinguishing it from T. adiastola , T. branchi , T. cryptotis , T. gallmanni , T. marmorata , T. pulchra and T. tuberculosa . The tympanum is round, distinguishing it from those species where the tympanum is not visible or is vertically elliptical: T. adiastola , T. delalandii , T. gallmanni , T. krugerensis , T. luganga , T. milletihorsini , T. monticola , and T. tandyi . The tympanum is variable in T. cryptotis , T. pulchra and T. tuberculosa . The ventral surface is smooth, distinguishing it from the granular ventral surfaces of T. kachowskii , T. krugerensis and T. tandyi . The back is smooth or has small warts, distinguishing it from T. gallmanni , T. pulchra and T. tuberculosa , which have prominent dorsal tubercles. The advertisement call consists of a rapidly-repeated series of high-pitched notes, distinguishing it from the knocking call of T. krugerensis and T. gallmanni and the tapping call of T. tuberculosa and T. pulchra . It can be distinguished from species with a higher emphasised frequency: T. adiastola , T. ahli , T. branchi , T. cryptotis , T. marmorata , T. natalensis , and T. wambensis . Tomopterna luganga has a much lower emphasised frequency. The emphasised frequency and the note rate of T. banhinensis sp. nov. may overlap with that of T. delalandii and T. tandyi , but these species do not occur with the Mozambique taxon ( Table 3 ).