[1] The Ruo River watershed includes the southern slopes of the Mulanje Massif and Shire Highlands in Malawi.

The Ruo and its left bank tributaries also drain a portion of Milange District in neighboring Mozambique.

Zoa Falls (16°18'27"S 35°17'10"E) has a 60-meter drop, and effectively isolates the fish populations upstream in the Ruo watershed from those of the lower Zambezi and Shire rivers.

Mr. F. H. France was a young forestry officer who perished in trying to cross the Ruo River close to where Arthroleptis francei were first collected.

"[4] Despite its connection with river though its history and naming, this frog is a terrestrial species living in leaf litter.