[1][2] The specific name scapularis refers to shoulder blades (scapulae).

[3] Alcohol-preserved individuals from the Garamba National Park are dorsally brown with black spots that usually coincide with the warts; a few individuals have a light vertebral line.

The abdomen is immaculate white[4] to whitish with irregular brown spots.

[4] Phrynobatrachus scapularis occurs in both the savanna and forest zone.

[1] In the Garamba National Park, it occurs in wide variety of habitats (from marshes to savanna), but is more common in aquatic habitats, in particular marshes and marshy stream margins.