ArticlePDF Available

Descriptions of the advertisement calls of three sympatric frog species in the subgenus Vatomantis (genus Gephyromantis) from Madagascar

Authors:

Abstract and Figures

Frogs of the subgenus Vatomantis Glaw and Vences, 2006 form a monophyletic group within the genus Gephyromantis Methuen, 1920 in the family Mantellidae, endemic to Madagascar and Mayotte. In anurans, vocalization is often a valuable character complex for taxonomical classification since it is an efficient premating isolation mechanism, and to add to the bioacoustic knowledge on Madagascar’s frogs we here provide a description of the advertisement calls of three sympatric species in the subgenus Vatomantis: Gephyromantis webbi (Grandison, 1953), G. rivicola (Vences, Glaw and Andreone, 1997) and G. silvanus (Vences, Glaw and Andreone, 1997). Calls of all three species were recorded the same day at the same temperature, in sympatry along a small stream in a forest fragment near Andranofotsy, allowing for a direct comparison. The call of G. webbi is the shortest, with long inter-call interval length. Overall, the calls of G. rivicola and G. silvanus show more similarities to one another than to that of G. webbi.
Content may be subject to copyright.
Introduction
Gephyromantis is a monophyletic genus within
the family Mantellidae that contains frogs of largely
brownish coloration, which primarily inhabit the leaf
litter in the rain forests of Madagascar (Glaw and
Vences, 2006). Five subgenera are currently recognized
(Duboimantis, Phylacomantis, Laurentomantis,
Vatomantis, and Gephyromantis). However, a recent
molecular study using both mitochondrial and nuclear
genes revealed that the subgenus Gephyromantis is
monophyletic only after exclusion of G. klemmeri
Guibé, 1974, and that Duboimantis Glaw and Vences,
2006 includes two strongly supported clades of uncertain
relationships (Kaffenberger et al., 2012). The focal
group of the present study, the subgenus Vatomantis, is
monophyletic and is the sister group to G. klemmeri +
Laurentomantis Dubois, 1980.
The subgenus Vatomantis contains three species
of small-sized frogs from north-eastern Madagascar
(Vences, Glaw and Andreone, 1997; Vences, Glaw and
Marquez, 2006; Glaw and Vences, 2006). Gephyromantis
webbi and G. silvanus were originally described from
the island of Nosy Mangabe, with G. webbi being
additionally found on the adjacent mainland (Grandison,
1953; Vences, Glaw and Andreone, 1997; Glaw and
Vences, 2007). According to current knowledge (Glaw
and Vences, 2007; Gehring, Ratsoavina and Vences,
2010), G. rivicola has a distribution from Marojejy
south to the Masoala Peninsula at elevations from 0-
700 m, while Gephyromantis webbi and G. silvanus live
in coastal lowland forests between Andranofotsy and
Ambodiriana below 100 m elevation.
The three frog species in the subgenus Vatomantis are
typically 22–33 mm in size (snout-vent length) and can
be distinguished from other species of the genus due to
their olive green coloration (Glaw and Vences, 2006).
Vatomantis frogs are usually found within 20 m from
streams containing large mossy stones and boulders.
Species of the subgenus Vatomantis call during the
day (G. webbi) and during the evening and night (G.
silvanus), with G. rivicola being known to show both
diurnal and nocturnal calling behaviour (Vences, Glaw
and Andreone, 1997; Glaw and Vences, 2006). The
calls of G. webbi from its type locality, Nosy Mangabe,
Herpetology Notes, volume 7: 67-73 (2014) (published online on 4 February 2014)
Descriptions of the advertisement calls
of three sympatric frog species in the subgenus Vatomantis
(genus Gephyromantis) from Madagascar
Joana Sabino-Pinto1, Christopher J. Mayerl1, Willem R.M. Meilink1, Diana Grasso1,
Constantijn C.B. Raaijmakers1, Valerio G. Russo1, Maud Segal1, Gwij Stegen1, Jonathan Clegg1,
Achyuthan N. Srikanthan1, Frank Glaw2, Miguel Vences3,4
1Master studies in Herpetology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 2
Pleinlaan, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium.
2Zoologische Staatssammlung München, Münchhausenstr. 21,
81247 München, Germany.
3Technische Universität Braunschweig, Zoological Institute,
Mendelssohnstr. 4, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany.
4Corresponding author; e-mail: m.vences@tu-bs.de
Abstract. Frogs of the subgenus Vatomantis Glaw and Vences, 2006 form a monophyletic group within the genus Gephyromantis
Methuen, 1920 in the family Mantellidae, endemic to Madagascar and Mayotte. In anurans, vocalization is often a valuable
character complex for taxonomical classification since it is an efficient premating isolation mechanism, and to add to the
bioacoustic knowledge on Madagascar’s frogs we here provide a description of the advertisement calls of three sympatric
species in the subgenus Vatomantis: Gephyromantis webbi (Grandison, 1953), G. rivicola (Vences, Glaw and Andreone, 1997)
and G. silvanus (Vences, Glaw and Andreone, 1997). Calls of all three species were recorded the same day at the same
temperature, in sympatry along a small stream in a forest fragment near Andranofotsy, allowing for a direct comparison. The
call of G. webbi is the shortest, with long inter-call interval length. Overall, the calls of G. rivicola and G. silvanus show more
similarities to one another than to that of G. webbi.
Key Words: Bioacoustics, Mantellidae, rivicola, silvanus, webbi, Andranofotsy.
Joana Sabino-Pinto et al.
68
as well as call recordings of all three species from
Andranofotsy, have been documented on an audio-
CD (Vences, Glaw and Marquez, 2006). However, the
bioacoustic analysis and description so far refers to the
G. webbi recordings from Nosy Mangabe only (Glaw
and Vences, 1992; Vences, Glaw and Andreone, 1997)
and is not very detailed.
It is known that calls in anurans play an important
role in attracting females, advertising the position of
an individual to conspecific males, defending calling
sites and announcing a more aggressive behaviour
(Wells, 1977, 2007; Duellman and Trueb, 1994; Ryan,
2001). Advertisement calls of anuran males are species-
specific, and comparative bioacoustic analyses of frog
vocalizations are valuable tools in the discovery of
new taxa, assessment of taxonomic rank and species
identification (Kok and Kalamandeen, 2008). The
application of bioacoustics in an integrative taxonomic
approach is especially important in tropical areas, as it
opens the door to new frontiers of data exploration that
may increase the rate of species discovery (Padial and
De la Riva, 2009). The sometimes drastic, bioacoustic
differences between similar species may act as an
efficient premating isolation mechanism (Vieites et al.,
2012). As body temperature has an impact on the call
of anurans, this should also be considered in taxonomic
comparisons among closely related species (Schneider
and Sinsch, 2006). In mantellids, as well as in other
anurans, temperature mainly influences inter-note
intervals and note repetition rate but affects note length
only weakly (Glaw et al., 2010; Vieites et al., 2012).
Here we describe and compare the calls of the three
closely related Gephyromantis species, all classified in
the subgenus Vatomantis (G. webbi, G. rivicola and G.
silvanus)
Materials and Methods
All advertisement calls of the three species analysed
here were recorded in close syntopy along a stream
near Andranofotsy (-15.4353, 49.8439, 85 m a.s.l.), a
coastal site near the small town of Maroantsetra, on 17
December 2001 during the afternoon and in the early
evening (15−19 h), at a temperature of 25.4°C, by M.
Vences. Calls were recorded in the field using a Sony
WM-D6C tape recorder with an external microphone
(Vivanco EM 238). Recordings of the three males
were made at a distance of about 100-150 cm from the
frogs. For G. silvanus and G. webbi, recordings of 10
s and 30 s were selected for analysis whereas for G.
rivicola, 60 s of continuous calling was selected, each
recording probably representing one male. Recordings
were digitized at sampling rate 22.05 kHz and 16-bit
resolution and computer-analysed using the software
CoolEdit Pro v. 2.0 (Syntrillium Software Corporation).
Frequency information was obtained through Fast
Figure 1. Oscillograms of G. silvanus (left) and G. webbi (right). Red-brown denotes one call, green represents one pulse, A is the
inter-call interval, and B is the pulse interval. Each picture is a zoomed in view of the one above it and graphs are not to scale.
Fourier Transformation (FFT; width 1024 points).
Spectograms were obtained at Hanning window function
with 512 bands resolution. The temporal parameters
“calls” and “pulses” are used according to Fig. 1. Call
descriptions follow Vences et al. (2002) in structure and
terminology. The analysed call recordings are deposited
in full length in the Fonoteca Zoologica (www.fonozoo.
com) of the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales of
Madrid, Spain (CD Code: MV07B-CD68; recording
numbers: G. rivicola: 3016, 3030; G. silvanus: 3017-
3025; G. webbi, 3026-3029). Those recordings used
for analysis herein are the ones included in the CD of
Vences, Glaw and Marquez (2006), and deposited in the
Fonoteca under numbers 3016 (G. rivicola), 3025 (G.
silvanus), and 3026 (G. webbi).
Dorsolateral and ventral views of representative
frogs from the three species were photographed shortly
after capture to ensure optimal representation of their
natural coloration (Figs. 2-3). These specimens were
euthanized with chlorobutanol, and subsequently fixed
in 7% formalin solution and preserved in 70% ethanol.
Voucher specimens were catalogued in the Zoologische
Advertisement calls of three sympatric frog species in the subgenus Vatomantis 69
Figure 2. Dorsolateral and ventral views of adult males of Gephyromantis webbi, G. rivicola and G. silvanus, all photographed on
17 December 2001 near Andranofotsy, Madagascar.
Staatssammlung München (ZSM), Germany for permanent
storage. MV refers to field numbers of Miguel Vences.
All specimens listed were collected at the same time and
site as call recordings were made, but recordings cannot
be assigned reliably to any specific voucher because the
recorded individuals, although observed calling, could not
be captured immediately upon calling.
Results
Call descriptions of G. webbi, G. rivicola,
and G. silvanus
Calls of G. webbi were emitted during the day from
mossy stones along a stream in rainforest, close to the
recording site of G. rivicola and G. silvanus. Calls from
G. rivicola were emitted during the day as well from
rocks and the ground at hidden positions in an area
where large boulders formed caves near a small stream in
rainforest. Finally, the calls of G. silvanus were emitted
in the late afternoon from within cave-like formations
between large boulders, close to a small rainforest
stream. Calling specimens of this latter species were
very secretive but could be observed at one occasion.
All males were calling more or less continuously.
Gephyromantis webbi (Grandison, 1953)
Toamasina Province: Andranofotsy. Four males,
ZSM 136/2002 (MV 2001.1436), ZSM 137/2002 (MV
2001.1437), ZSM 181/2002 (MV 2001.1376) and
ZSM 182/2002 (MV 2001.1377); two females, ZSM
138/2002 (MV 2001.1438) and ZSM 139/2002 (MV
2001.1439) .
The call is reminiscent of the sound made by two stones
smacking together in quick succession, generally in
triplets, with the middle pulse having the highest energy.
Calls were recorded from one of the four collected
males and consisted of three pulses (n=3 calls) (Fig. 4).
Call duration was 496-571 ms (523±42 ms, n=3 calls),
duration of intervals between calls was 1697-2155 ms
(1926±324 ms, n=2 calls). Pulse duration was 55-86 ms
(73±12 ms, n=9 pulses), duration of intervals between
pulses was 124-132 ms (129±3 ms, n=6 intervals).
Frequency range was 1470-8879 Hz, with a dominant
frequency range of 2756-4478 Hz (3968±341 Hz, n=3
calls).
Gephyromantis rivicola (Vences, Glaw and Andreone, 1997)
Toamasina Province: Andranofotsy. Four males,
ZSM 119/2002 (MV 2001.1450), ZSM 120/2002 (MV
2001.1451), ZSM 179/2002 (MV 2001.1380) and ZSM
180/2002 (MV 2001.1381).
The frog call could be perceived as marbles rapidly
clicking together. Calls of one male have 16-19 pulses
(17±1 pulses, n=5 calls) (Fig. 5). Call duration was
1113-1543 ms (1257±169 ms, n=5 calls), duration
of intervals between calls was 79-109 ms (97±11 ms,
n=5 intervals). Pulse duration was 31-63 ms (46±6 ms,
n=50 pulses), duration of intervals between pulses was
18-56 ms (34±9 ms, n=50 intervals). Frequency range
was 1970-8263 Hz, with a dominant frequency range
of 3229-4995 Hz (4689±341 Hz, n=5 calls). The pulses
have descendant modulation, with the highest sound
energy concentrated at the start of a pulse, in a short
period with duration of 12 ms. Immediately after this
condensed burst of sound, the pulse energy decreases
rapidly.
Joana Sabino-Pinto et al.
70
Figure 3. Specimens of Gephyromantis silvanus, photographed in their habitat (a small cave) on 17 December 2001 at night, near
Andranofotsy, Madagascar.
Gephyromantis silvanus
(Vences, Glaw and Andreone, 1997)
Toamasina Province: Andranofotsy. Three males,
ZSM 131/2002 (MV 2001.1446), ZSM 177/2002 (MV
2001.1378) and ZSM 178/2002 (MV 2001.1379); one
female, ZSM 1137/2002 (MV 2001.1447); one juvenile,
ZSM 130/2002 (MV 2001.1445).
The call (Fig. 6) sounds like an old door being closed,
or a spoon being dragged along a washboard. The two
recordings are analysed separately because of their
marked difference. There is however no indication that
the two calls were of fundamentally different types
with different functions, such as territorial vs. mating.
Instead, we hypothesize that the second recording
includes simultaneously emitted calls of two males and
therefore is difficult to analyze. We consider the first
recording most reliable and informative for taxonomic
purposes, hence our focus on the call parameters derived
from it. Since calls were emitted from within a cave
it was not possible to ascertain which individual has
been recorded. We succeeded only in one single case
to directly observe call emission and thereby assign this
vocalization to G. silvanus, but the observed male could
be neither recorded nor collected as it was calling from
a deep fissure within the cave.
Recording 1 (single calling male): Call consisted of
49-57 pulses (53±4 pulses, n=3 calls). Call duration was
2143-2257 ms (2217±64 ms, n=3 calls), duration of
intervals between calls was 1088-2243 ms (1666±817
ms, n=2 intervals). Pulse duration was 31-49 ms (41±2
ms, n=10 pulses), duration of intervals between pulses
was 14-33 ms (24±6 ms, n=10 intervals). Frequency
range was 1492-3776 Hz, with a dominant frequency
range of 2067-3100 Hz (2526±526 Hz, n=3 calls).
Recording 2 (antiphonal call): Calls consisted of 99-
117 pulses (107±6 pulses, n=7 calls). Call duration was
3152-4575 ms (4048±492 ms, n=7 calls), duration of
intervals between calls was 154-733 ms (381±207 ms,
n=6 intervals). Pulse duration was 22-37 ms (27±4 ms,
n=10 pulses), duration of intervals between pulses was
12-26 ms (19±4 ms, n=10 intervals). Frequency range
was 1131-4847 Hz, with a dominant frequency range of
1550-3445 Hz (2583±879 Hz, n=7 calls).
Advertisement calls of three sympatric frog species in the subgenus Vatomantis 71
Figure 4. Spectrogram (above) and oscillogram (below) of a
call of Gephyromantis webbi, recorded on 17 December 2001
at 24.5°C air temperature; near Andranofotsy, Madagascar.
Figure 5. Spectrogram (above) and oscillogram (below) of a
call of Gephyromantis rivicola, recorded on 17 December 2001
at 24.5°C air temperature; near Andranofotsy, Madagascar.
Figure 6. Spectrogram (above) and oscillogram (below) of a
call of Gephyromantis silvanus (recording 1 in text), recorded
on 17 December 2001 at 24.5°C air temperature; near
Andranofotsy, Madagascar.
Discussion
Despite their importance in the biology of anurans,
there is no standard methodology for describing calls.
The definitions used herein were suggested by Duellman
and Trueb (1994), and have been widely accepted and
used by many others (e.g., Kok, 2010; Lehtinen et al.,
2012; Kok et al., 2013). In this system, a call is defined
as the assemblage of acoustic signals produced in a
given sequence, a note is an individual unit of sound
contained within a call, and a pulse is an energetic
impulse in the temporal spectrum of a note. Due to their
species specificity, knowledge on the characteristics of
advertisement calls is integral in performing integrative
taxonomic work, such as in the identification and
discovery of species (Padial et al., 2010; Vences et al.,
2012). Furthermore, once the call of a species is known,
the information can be used in a variety of biological and
ecological studies such as measuring species diversity
by call analyses or determining a species reproductive
habitat by determining call locations (Funk et al.,
2011).
The sister subgenus to Vatomantis is Laurentomantis
(Kaffenberger et al., 2012). This latter subgenus inhabits
eastern and northern Madagascar and is composed of
small frogs, with single subgular vocal sacs, mainly
nocturnal activity, and in many species a remarkably
broad head and warty dorsal surface (Glaw and Vences,
2006, 2007). Six Laurentomantis species are currently
recognized, all of which have calls differing from
the species analyzed here. The call of G. malagasius
(Methuen and Hewitt, 1913) is composed of a single,
long, pulsed note with a low frequency, which can last
for as long as a 1.5 seconds (Vences et al., 2002). On
the other hand, the call of G. horridus (Boettger, 1880)
is composed of a fast sequence of unharmonious pulses
with 16 to 33 widely spaced pulses (Vences et al., 2002).
The calls of G. klemmeri and G. striatus (Vences, Glaw,
Andreone, Jesu, and Schimmenti, 2002) are similar to
the one of G. horridus although the former is faster
(Vences et al., 2006) and the latter has a maximum of
6 pulses per note (Vences et al., 2002). The call of G.
ventrimaculatus (Angel, 1935) is similar to the one of G.
striatus, but is slower and has a lower intensity (Vences
et al., 2002). Lastly, the call of G. ranjomavo Glaw and
Vences, 2011 is not yet recorded, but appears to consist
of a sequence of unharmonious, distinctly pulsed notes
(Glaw and Vences, 2011). The calls of G. webbi and G.
rivicola can be differentiated from all the calls associated
with the sister subgenus by being slower and by each
note being composed of less pulses in the former and
more pulses in the latter. The call of G. silvanus can be
differentiated by being longer and lasting for more than
two seconds. Given that most Laurentomantis calls are
composed by long series of pulses, the low number of
pulses and the slow repetition rate found in G. webbi
can be hypothesized to constitute a derived condition
within the (Laurentomantis, Vatomantis) clade.
In comparison with the calls of G. webbi from the
island Nosy Mangabe (described by Glaw and Vences
1992), which were recorded at similar temperature
(23°C) it is remarkable that these calls were composed
of up to 10 pulses whereas those from Andronofotsy
contained only three pulses. Remarkable but poorly
understood variation in call parameters is also evident
between the two recordings of G. silvanus suggesting
that further research is necessary to understand the
acoustic repertoire of Vatomantis species.
Acknowledgments. We are grateful to Augustin Sarovy for
his help during the fieldwork in Andranofotsy. This work has
been carried out in collaboration agreement of the Zoologische
Staatssammlung München with UADBA (Université
d’Antananarivo, Département de Biologie Animale). The
Malagasy authorities kindly granted research and export permits.
References
Duellman, W.E., Trueb, L. (1994): Biology of Amphibians. Johns
Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 789 pp.
Funk, W.C., Caminer, M., Ron, S.R. (2011): High levels of cryptic
species diversity uncovered in Amazonian frogs. Proceedings
of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 279 (1734): 1806-
1814.
Gehring, P.S., Ratsoavina, F.M., Vences, M. (2010): Filling the
gaps – amphibian and reptile records from lowland rainforests
in eastern Madagascar. Salamandra 46 (4): 214-234.
Glaw, F., Köhler, J., De la Riva, I., Vieites, D. R., Vences, M. (2010):
Integrative taxonomy of Malagasy treefrogs: combination of
molecular genetics, bioacoustics and comparative morphology
reveals twelve additional species of Boophis. Zootaxa 2383 (1):
1-82.
Glaw, F., Vences, M. (1992): Zur Kenntnis der Gattungen Boophis,
Aglyptodactylus und Mantidactylus (Amphibia: Anura) aus
Madagaskar, mit Beschreibung einer neuen Art. Bonner
zoologische Beiträge 43: 45-77.
Glaw, F., Vences, M. (2006): Phylogeny and genus-level
classification of mantellid frogs (Amphibia, Anura). Organisms
Diversity and Evolution 6 (3): 236-253.
Glaw, F., Vences, M. (2007): A Field Guide to the Amphibians and
Reptiles of Madagascar. Third edition. Köln, Vences & Glaw,
496 pp.
Glaw, F., Vences, M. (2011): Description of a new frog species of
Gephyromantis (subgenus Laurentomantis) with tibial glands
from Madagascar (Amphibia, Mantellidae). Spixiana 34 (1):
121-127.
Joana Sabino-Pinto et al.
72
Grandison, A.G.C. (1953): A new species of rhacophorid frog from
Madagascar. The Annals & Magazine of Natural History 6 (71):
855-856.
Kaffenberger, N., Wollenberg, K.C., Köhler, J., Glaw, F.,
Vieites, D.R., Vences, M. (2012): Molecular phylogeny and
biogeography of Malagasy frogs of the genus Gephyromantis.
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 62 (1): 555-560.
Kok, P.J.R. (2010): A redescription of Anomaloglossus praderioi
(La Marca, 1998) (Anura: Aromobatidae: Anomaloglossinae),
with description of its tadpole and call. Papéis Avulsos de
Zoologia 50 (4): 51-68.
Kok, P.J.R., Kalamandeen, M. (2008): Introduction to the taxonomy
of the amphibians of Kaieteur National Park, Guyana. Abc Taxa
Volume 5, 288 pp., 151 figs.
Kok, P.J.R., Willaert, B., Means, D.B. (2013): A new diagnosis
and description of Anomaloglossus roraima (La Marca, 1998)
(Anura: Aromobatidae: Anomaloglossinae), with description of
its tadpole and call. South American Journal of Herpetology 8
(1): 29-45.
Lehtinen, R.M., Glaw, F., Andreone, F., Pabijan, M., Vences, M.
(2012): A new species of putatively pond breeding frog of the
genus Guibemantis from Southeastern Madagascar. Copeia
2012 (4): 648-662.
Padial, J. M., De la Riva, I. (2009): Integrative taxonomy
reveals cryptic Amazonian species of Pristimantis (Anura:
Strabomantidae). Zoological Journal of the Linnaean Society
155 (1): 97-122.
Padial, J.M., Miralles, A., De la Riva, I., Vences, M. (2010): The
integrative future of taxonomy. Frontiers in Zoology 7: 16.
Ryan, M.J. (2001): Anuran Communication. Smithsonian
Institution Press, Washington D.C.
Schneider, H., Sinsch, U. (2006): Contributions of bioacoustics to
the taxonomy of the Anura. In: Amphibian Biology, Volume 7,
p. 2892-2932. Systematics, ed. by H. Heatwole, Surrey Beatty
& Sons, Chipping Norton.
Vences, M., Glaw, F., Andreone, F. (1997): Description of two new
frogs of the genus Mantidactylus from Madagascar, with notes
on Mantidactylus klemmeri (Guibé, 1974) and Mantidactylus
webbi (Grandison, 1953) (Amphibia, Ranidae, Mantellinae).
Alytes 14 (4): 130-146.
Vences, M., Glaw, F., Andreone, F., Jesu, R., Schimmenti, G. (2002):
Systematic revision of the enigmatic Malagasy broad-headed
frogs (Laurentomantis Dubois, 1980), and their phylogenetic
position within the endemic mantellid radiation of Madagascar.
Contributions to Zoology 70 (4): 191-212.
Vences, M., Glaw, F., Marquez, R. (2006): The calls of the frogs of
Madagascar. Fonoteca Zoológica and Alosa, Barcelona, 44 pp.
Vences, M., Gehara, M., Köhler, J., Glaw, F. (2012): Description
of a new Malagasy treefrog (Boophis) occurring syntopically
with its sister species, and a plea for studies on non-allopatric
speciation in tropical amphibians. Amphibia-Reptilia 33 (3/4):
503-520.
Vieites, D.R., Wollenberg, K.C., Vences, M. (2012): Not all little
brown frogs are the same: a new species of secretive and cryptic
Gephyromantis (Anura: Mantellidae) from Madagascar. Zootaxa
3344: 34-46.
Wells, K.D. (1977): The social behaviour of anuran amphibians.
Animal Behaviour 25 (part 3): 666-693.
Wells, K.D. (2007): The ecology and behavior of amphibians.
University of Chicago Press, 1148 pp.
Accepted by Diogo Provete
Advertisement calls of three sympatric frog species in the subgenus Vatomantis 73
... Terminology follows the recently-published recommendations of Köhler et al. (2017) with a note-centred approach. This definition is different from that of Vences et al. (2002) for Laurentomantis and Sabino- Pinto et al. (2014) for Vatomantis; the 'pulses' of those studies are here treated as notes, because each of these units in the new species described herein are distinctly pulsed, and therefore are treated as individual notes following Köhler et al. (2017). Recordings are deposited in the Animal Sound Archive of the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin (DOI: 10.7479/nmx8-aq7v), and are available as Suppl. ...
Article
Full-text available
We describe a new species of the genus Gephyromantis, subgenus Vatomantis (Mantelli-dae, Mantellinae), from moderately high elevation (1164-1394 m a.s.l.) on the Marojejy, Sorata, and Andravory Massifs in northern Madagascar. The new species, Gephyromantis (Vatomantis) lomorina sp. n. is highly distinct from all other species, and was immediately recognisable as an undescribed taxon upon its discovery. It is characterised by a granular, mottled black and green skin, reddish eyes, paired subgular vocal sacs of partly white colour, bulbous femoral glands present only in males and consisting of three large granules, white ventral spotting, and a unique, amplitude-modulated advertisement call consisting of a series of 24-29 rapid, quiet notes at a dominant frequency of 5124-5512 Hz. Genetically the species is also strongly distinct from its congeners, with uncorrected pairwise distances ≥10 % in a fragment of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene to all other nominal Gephyromantis species. A molecular phylogeny based on 16S sequences places it in a clade with species of the subgenera Laurentomantis and Vatomantis, and we assign it to the latter subgenus based on its morphological resemblance to members of Vatoman-tis. We discuss the biogeography of reptiles and amphibians across the massifs of northern Madagascar, the evidence for a strong link between Marojejy and Sorata, and the role of elevation in determining community sharing across this landscape.
Article
Full-text available
Museum national d'Histoire naturelle, Laboratoire des Reptiles et Amphibiens, 25 rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris, France; address for correspondence: Zoologisches Forschungsinstitut und Museum Alexander Koenig, Abstract A revision of species included in the subgenus Laurentomantis (genus Mantidactylus) yielded new information about phylogeny, taxonomy, and biogeography of the endemic mantellid frog radiation in Madagascar. T om Laurentomantis species, disting-uished by morphology and advertisement calls, are recognized: Mantidactylus {Laurentomantis) horridus (Northern andNorth-Western biogeographic regions), M. (L.) ventrimaculatus (South-East and East); M. (L.) malagasius (East); and the new species M. (L.) striatus (North-East). M. striatus and M. malagasius are probably sister species based on bioacoustic and mor-phological affinities. A tibial gland, so far unknown in anurans, is described in M. malagasius and M. horridus. A phylogenetic analysis of 54 mainly osteological and morphological characters in 33 endemic Malagasy anurans resulted in a position of Lau-rentomantis close to species of the subgenera Spinomantis and Gephyromantis (genus Mantidactylus), in accordance with its subgeneric status. However, also the well-established genus Mantella resulted to be nested within Mantidactylus, supporting the need of generic partitioning of the latter.
Article
Full-text available
We report on the results of a survey of amphibians and reptiles at several primary and secondary lowland habi-tats along Madagascar's east coast. The survey yielded a total of 106 species (61 amphibians and 45 reptiles). Comparisons of mitochondrial DNA sequences of selected amphibian and reptile species confirmed their identification and in some cases allowed to assign them to particular intraspecific genetic lineages. The highest species diversity was found in the pri-mary lowland rainforests of Ambodiriana and Sahafina. The littoral forests of Tampolo and Vohibola held overall a higher species diversity than the anthropogenic secondary forest formations of Vatomandry and Mahanoro. Structural differ-ences between lowland forests and littoral forests seem to cause a difference in species composition, especially relevant for the amphibian species assemblages. Besides a number of undescribed species, the most remarkable records were those of Mantidactylus majori, Uroplatus lineatus and Blaesodactylus antongilensis in the Sahafina forest at Madagascar's central east coast, which constitute significant range extensions for these species. Four new unconfirmed candidate species (specimens of high genetic divergences that require further study to assess their possible species status) were recorded: Blommersia sp. [Ca12 HM631877] from Vatomandry, Boophis sp. aff. arcanus (Boophis arcanus [Ca44 HM631879]) from Marolambo, Bo­ ophis sp. aff. boehmei (Boophis boehmei [Ca43 HM631885]) from Sahafina, and Guibemantis sp. aff. bicalcaratus (Guibeman­ tis bicalcaratus [Ca21 HM631910]) from Maroantsetra.
Article
Full-text available
Anomaloglossus praderioi was originally described as Colostethus praderioi by E. La Marca in 1998 on the basis of two male specimens. The present paper provides a redescription of the species on the basis of new material from Maringma Tepui in Guyana and an additional specimen from Sierra de Lema in Venezuela. The redescription includes descriptions of the tadpole and vocalisation. Anomaloglossus praderioi is a medium-sized species mainly distinguished from its known congeners in having Fingers I, II and IV equal in length, the tip of Finger IV barely reaching the base of the distal subarticular tubercle on Finger III when fingers are adpressed, Fingers II and III with preaxial keel-like lateral folds, toes basally webbed with folded flaplike fringing except on Toes IV-V, symmetrical cloacal tubercles present, thin pale dorsolateral stripe present from tip of snout to tip of urostyle, ventrolateral stripe inconspicuous, never straight, oblique lateral stripe absent, throat in male grey to very dark grey, almost solid black, with black blotches, throat in female bright orange, almost immaculate. The tadpole is dark brown to black, exotrophic, benthic, LTRF 2(2)/3. The advertisement call consists of long trains of a single note repeated at a rate of 61-76 notes/min with a dominant frequency ranging from 3,562 to 3,856 Hz. The species is reported from eastern Venezuela and western Guyana and inhabits montane medium-canopy forest at elevations between 1,310-1,950 m above sea level.
Book
Full-text available
Kaieteur National Park is a protected area covering ca. 63,000 ha located at the eastern edge of the Pakaraima Mountains, in a largely unexplored region of west-central Guyana. Next to providing description of the area, its vegetation and climate, an overview of the equipment and appropriate techniques needed to study amphibian taxonomy, this manual also provides a brief summary of our current knowledge of the amphibian systematics in the region, key features useful to identify amphibians, and the very first field guide dealing with the amphibian fauna of Guyana, notably with the amphibians of Kaieteur National Park. A total of 48 species (46 anurans and 2 caecilians) are treated and illustrated in colour. Field keys, field identifications, brief information on natural history, calls, tadpoles and distribution within and outside the Park are also included. This work also reports the microhylid Synapturanus salseri Pyburn, 1975 for the first time from Guyana
Article
Full-text available
The frog Anomaloglossus roraima was originally described as Colostethus roraima by E. La Marca in 1998 on the basis of a single immature female collected at 2700 m elevation on the upper slopes of Mount Roraima, a tepui (table mountain) located in southeastern Venezuela. We herein provide a redescription of the species on the basis of new material from Wei-Assipu-tepui and Maringma-tepui in Guyana. The redescription includes the first descriptions of the tadpole and vocalization. Anomaloglossus roraima is a small-sized species mainly distinguished from its known congeners in having Finger I < II; fingers with narrow pre- and postaxial unfolded fringes; toes unwebbed (although rudimentary webbing is sometimes present between Toe III and IV) with narrow pre- and postaxial unfolded fringes; symmetrical cloacal tubercles present; dorsolateral stripe usually present, often inconspicuous; ventrolateral stripe absent; oblique lateral stripe absent; no obvious sexual dichromatism in throat, chest and ventral color patterns. The tadpole is large, black, exotrophic, arboreal, LTRF 2(2)/3. The advertisement call consists of a single note repeated at a rate of 8.5-17 notes/min with a dominant frequency ranging from 4107 to 4362 Hz. The species is restricted to a small area in the Eastern Tepui Chain in southeastern Venezuela and western Guyana and mainly inhabits large bromeliads in tepui scrub and high-tepui meadows at elevations between 1860-2700 m above sea level. The discovery on different tepui summits and upper slopes of a species previously reported as having a highly restricted range is important for the understanding of the biogeography of the Pantepui region.
Article
We describe a new species of frog from Madagascar, assigned to the subgenus Laurentomantis in the genus Gephyromantis. The new species is known from a single male specimen from about 1300 m elevation in Marojejy National Park in northeastern Madagascar, and from a second specimen with uncertain locality data. It differs from the other four described Laurentomantis species by a combination of its unique life colouration, presence of tibial glands, broad head, and substantial genetic differentiation. In line with the arguments used in the conservation assessments of other potential Marojejy endemics from similar altitude, we suggest a conservation status of Vulnerable for this new species. The possible function of the enigmatic tibial glands is discussed. We also provide new data on Gephyromantis horridus from its type locality Nosy Be island suggesting that the type locality of this species is not in error.