Blommersia angolafa

Taxonavigation

Taxonavigation: Anura
Superregnum: Eukaryota Cladus: Unikonta Cladus: Opisthokonta Cladus: Holozoa Regnum: Animalia Subregnum: Eumetazoa Cladus: Bilateria Cladus: Nephrozoa Superphylum: Deuterostomia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Infraphylum: Gnathostomata Megaclassis: Osteichthyes Cladus: Sarcopterygii Cladus: Rhipidistia Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes Cladus: Elpistostegalia Superclassis: Tetrapoda Classis: Amphibia Subclassis: Lissamphibia Ordo: Anura

Familia: Mantellidae
Subfamilia: Mantellinae
Genus: Blommersia
Species: Blommersia angolafa

Name

Blommersia angolafa, Andreone, Rosa, Noël, Crottini, Vences & Raxworthy, 2010

Type locality: RNI de Betampona, Region Atsinanana, Commune Rurale de Sahambala, campsite locally known as Sahambendrana, 17°53′54,5″S–49°12′55,2″E, 458 m

Holotype: MRSN A6314 (FAZC 13505)

Description

Diagnosis and Description

Blommersia angolafa is a small frog, with a body size of 17–21 mm, enlarged tips on fingers and toes (less developed in the other species), and lacks any dark area in the tympanic and frenal region, present in the other Blommersia. The following set of characteristic features also assign this species the genus Blommersia: patch-like femoral glands of type 2 in males, presence of weakly expressed webbing between toes, presence of small-sized inner and outer metatarsal tubercles and single and moderately distensible subgular vocal sac.

Colouration and Variation

B. angolafa has a rather uniform dorso-lateral colouration, shading from yellowish–light brownish to dark brown, with light-bluish spots on the flanks and light-bluish terminal parts of the fingers and toes. The species also appears to be chromatically sexually dimorphic. In fact, males differ from females in having a light colouration, while females are more brownish. After 2 years in preservative, the back has faded to light–yellowish shading to whitish, with a rather indistinct pattern of white spots on the flanks. The white-coloured tips of fingers and toes are no longer evident.

Similar species

see B. grandisonae (Although both B. angolafa and B. grandisonae have enlarged finger tips, they are much more developed in B. angolafa).

Eggs and tadpoles

Egg clutches are found only from December onwards; they are glued to the inside walls of palms' dead prophylls filled with water and fallen on the ground. Several different stages of tadpoles can be found sharing the water accumulated within the same fallen prophyll. Under captive conditions, all the eggs of a single clutch hatched after a period of 7–10 days, and the total duration of the larval development was 57–70 days.

Distribution and Habitat

Blommersia angolafa occurs at four forest blocks in eastern Madagascar: Masoala, Ambatovaky, Zahamena and Betampona and occupies rainforest with an elevation range between 90 m (Ankavanana River, PN de Masoala) and 508 m (Vohitsivalana, RNI de Betampona). It is found both in primary and secondary forest, due to the tolerance of some Dypsis palms to occur in secondary rainforest at Betampona. The observed elevational distribution at Betampona ranged from 332–548 m asl. The authors suspect that this species may also occur at other rainforest sites that fall within this elevational and latitudinal range for eastern Madagascar, such as Makira and Mananara-Nord.

Life History, Activity and Special Behaviours

A peculiar aspect characterising this new species is its novel life history and reproductive mode. Both sexes live and breed in a phytotelmic habitat of water accumulated within fallen prophylls and fallen leaf sheaths of at least three species of Dypsis palms. Within these phytotelmata, egg laying and complete larval development occur. Individuals were never observed outside those dead fallen Dypsis phytotelmata that were laying on the forest floor or that contained rainfall. The call starts at the end of September and continues mostly continuously until the end of February to early March. Calling males are usually heard during the dusk and early at night.

Call

(from Betampona): The advertisement call of B. angolafa consists of two notes, rather similar to those described for B. grandisonae and B. domerguei. Note of type 1 is a long and clearly pulsed note with a duration of 221–233 ms and consisting of 9–11 pulses that are repeated with a pulse repetition rate of 44–52 per second. One such pulsed note is followed by an irregular series of up to 13–29 notes of type 2 which are shorter and of irregular structure. Notes of type 2 can be short clicks consisting of a single main pulse and with a duration of 10–17 ms (n=2) or can consist of up to eight distinctly separated pulses each and then have durations of 63–86 ms, with all intermediate states occurring so that a clear distinction of further different note types is not possible. Intervals between notes of type 2 in a note series have a duration of 73–191 ms. The frequency appears as a more or less regular band between about 2,500–5,500 Hz; although, the fundamental frequency may be higher than 2,500 Hz.

Trends and Threats

So far, we have found B. angolafa only in phytotelmata of Dypsis species, and it is well-known that Dypsis palms are suffering from selective logging and deforestation. Thus, the conservation situation for B. angolafa is potentially and negatively affected by the palms' threatened status. Most of the Dypsis palms (or at least Dypsis lastelliana) are also threatened by selective logging habitat destruction, fire, harvesting for palm heart, and plant and seed collection by palm enthusiasts.

Decline cause

General habitat alteration and loss
Habitat modification from deforestation, or logging related activities
Intensified agriculture or grazing
Habitat fragmentation

Phylogenetic Relationships

The authors consider the reproductive mode of B. angolafa as a derived character, having evolved from the more typical reproduction in lentic water bodies. The general scarcity of lentic habitats in Malagasy rainforests may have provided the conditions that favoured the evolution of this phytotelmic breeding strategy.

Etymology

One of the authors (C. J. Raxworthy), first used this name when he found, the new Blommersia at Masoala. The term “angolafa” or “angolafo” is the Malagasy vernacular name used at that region by the Betsimisaraka people for the Dypsis palm species (mostly for Dypsis lastelliana), whose leaves and prophylls are used by the new Blommersia species.

References

Andreone, F., Rosa, G.M., Noël, J., Crottini, A., Vences, M. & Raxworthy, C.J. (2010). Living within fallen palm leaves: the discovery of an unknown Blommersia (Mantellidae: Anura) reveals a new reproductive strategy in the amphibians of Madagascar. Naturwissenschaften (published online 17 April)

External links

Blommersia angolafa AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation
Blommersia angolafa ARKive: Ultimate multimedia guide to the world's endangered species