Stumbling upon a New Frog Species of Guibemantis (Anura: Mantellidae) on Top of the Marojejy Massif in Northern Madagascar
Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
We describe a new frog species of the genus Guibemantis, subgenus Pandanusicola, from Marojejy National Park in northeastern Madagascar. Guibemantis milingilingy, the new species, exhibits high genetic divergence from all other described species of Guibemantis based on DNA sequences of a fragment of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene. This new species inhabits Pandanus plants like the majority of other members of this subgenus, but is found at much higher elevations (2026 m a.s.l.). It differs from its closest relative, G. punctatus, by the lack of speckled or spotted dorsal patterns and by the presence of a distinctly dark tympanum. As a high-elevation species, it is likely to be a species sensitive to climate change, similar to other montane endemics in Madagascar.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Copeia |
| Volume | 106 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Pages (from-to) | 255-263 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| ISSN | 0045-8511 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2018 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:
We thank Jary H. Razafindraibe, Angeluc Razafimanantsoa, and local park guides for their assistance during field sampling. We thank Meike Kondermann and Gabriele Keunecke for laboratory assistance with the molecular work. Newly determined sequences were submitted to GenBank (accession numbers MG753493–MG753494). We acknowledge the help and research permits issued by Madagascar National Parks (MNP) and the ‘‘Direction Générale des Forêts’’ (DGF). This work was carried out in collaboration with the Mention Zoologie et Biodiversité Animale, Uni-versité d’Antananarivo. AR and MCB were supported by fellowships of the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst. MV and MDS were supported by grants of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (VE247/13-1 and 15-1).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 by the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists.
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