[1][2] It is widely distributed in West Africa (Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Nigeria, and possibly adjacent countries) and Middle Africa (Cameroon, Central African Republic, and Bioko (Equatorial Guinea), possibly wider).

Most animals have a uniformly coloured greenish or brownish dorsal surface, slightly darker around the warts, and a whitish belly, but some have a spinal band of red with yellowish borders and a few have a red transverse band.

The male has a prominent black vocal sac on the throat during the breeding season.

[1] The males call near suitable waterbodies and the females lay clutches of a few hundred eggs which hatch in three days.

[3] Phrynobatrachus calcaratus is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as being of "least concern" as it is an adaptable species with a very wide range and its numbers appear to be stable.