[1] The specific name inexpectatus refers to the unexpected discovery of this species among museum specimens assigned to Phrynobatrachus minutus.

Dorsal skin is sometimes smooth but usually has warts in varying degree of number and prominence, most evidently on the upper flanks, posterior back, and hind limbs.

Alcohol-preserved specimens are dorsally grey-brown; a paler vertebral line, stripe, or broad mid-dorsal band may be present.

Dorsal pattern usually consists of very obscure blotching, spotting, and freckling.

It has been found amongst herbaceous vegetation at the margins of pools in open areas inside forests, and in a heavily grazed marshy area of extensively cultivated habitat where only remnants of former forest cover remained; whether this indicates tolerance to habitat disturbance or residual persistence is unknown.