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Liberia: a Vai death-date logogram, Sapo camera records and the Nimba toad
Vai writing includes a logogram used beside death dates. Camera-trap studies in Sapo recorded mammals, while a 2010 paper revisited the classification of the Liberian Nimba toad.
At a glance
- Vai logogram U+A618
- Used beside death-date notes; Unicode glosses it as “die, kill”.[1]
- Sapo National Park (2022 abstract)
- The 2022 study sample included 32 species of medium and large mammals.[4]
- Liberian Nimba toad (2010 abstract)
- The 2010 authors proposed a subspecies name for the Liberian form: Nimbaphrynoides occidentalis liberiensis.[7]
A place worth remembering
A Vai logogram beside a death date
Unicode dates Vai’s development to the early 1830s and credits most of it to Momolu Duwalu Bukele of Jondu. Tuchscherer and Hair (2002) relay Holsoe’s link between Bukele’s Jondu and modern Gawula east of Lake Piso; they also note that several towns may have borne the name. Unicode describes logogram U+A618 as meaning “die, kill”; it appears in death-date notes, and the chapter reports that the glyph has been interpreted as a wilting tree.[1][2]
What camera traps recorded in Sapo
The 2003 Liberian law extending Sapo National Park gives 1983 as its founding year and places the park in Sinoe County. Collen and colleagues’ 2011 Oryx abstract reports seven images of pygmy hippopotamuses from 1,247 camera-trap days. Amin and colleagues’ 2022 camera-trap baseline counted 32 species of medium and large mammals. Their abstract describes Cephalophus zebra as diurnal and Cephalophus jentinki as nocturnal, contrasting this activity pattern with earlier studies.[3][4][5]
The Nimba toad and a taxonomic proposal
The Tentative List entry Liberia submitted in 2017 gives the Nimba toad’s name as Nimbaphrynoides occidentalis liberiensis and places its endemic range within Mount Nimba’s Liberian sector. Sandberger and colleagues’ 2010 abstract compares the Liberian and Guinean populations and proposes the subspecies name N. occidentalis liberiensis for the Liberian form.[6][7]
Good to know
A few clear answers before you explore.
Where was the Vai script developed?
Unicode associates the script’s development with Jondu and Momolu Duwalu Bukele. Tuchscherer and Hair (2002) report Holsoe’s link between Bukele’s Jondu and modern Gawula east of Lake Piso, while noting that several towns may have borne the name.[1][2]
What did Collen and colleagues’ 2011 paper report about Sapo?
The 2011 Oryx abstract reports seven images of pygmy hippopotamuses from 1,247 camera-trap days.[5]
Did the 2010 study treat the Liberian toad as a separate species?
No. Sandberger and colleagues proposed a subspecies designation for the Liberian form, Nimbaphrynoides occidentalis liberiensis, rather than a separate species. The 2017 Tentative List entry uses the same name.[7][6]
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