A distinctive new frog species (Anura, Mantellidae) supports the biogeographic linkage of two montane rainforest massifs in northern Madagascar

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskriftTidsskriftartikelForskningfagfællebedømt

Dokumenter

  • Fulltext

    Forlagets udgivne version, 10 MB, PDF-dokument

  • Scherz, Mark D.
  • Oliver Hawlitschek
  • Jary H. Razafindraibe
  • Steven Megson
  • Fanomezana Mihaja Ratsoavina
  • Andolalao Rakotoarison
  • Molly C. Bletz
  • Frank Glaw
  • Miguel Vences

We describe a new species of the genus Gephyromantis, subgenus Vatomantis (Mantellidae, 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 Vatomantis. 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.

OriginalsprogEngelsk
TidsskriftZoosystematics and Evolution
Vol/bind94
Udgave nummer2
Sider (fra-til)247-261
Antal sider15
ISSN1435-1935
DOI
StatusUdgivet - 2018
Eksternt udgivetJa

Bibliografisk note

Publisher Copyright:
© Mark D. Scherz et al.

ID: 284288762