A new species of the Boophis rappiodes group (Anura,Mantellidae) from the Sahamalaza Peninsula,northwest Madagascar,with acoustic monitoring of its nocturnal calling activity

A new species of treefrog of the Boophis rappiodes group (Anura, Mantellidae) is described from the Sahamalaza – Iles Radama National Park in northwest Madagascar. This new species is green in colour with bright red speckling across its head and dorsum; similar in morphology to other species of this group including: B. bottae, B. rappiodes, B. erythrodactylus and B. tasymena. The new species can be distinguished by its advertisement call and by a genetic divergence of more than 4.9% in the analysed mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene fragment. Its call consists of two note types: a trill and a click; although similar sounding to B. bottae, the trill note of the new species has a faster pulse rate while the click note is predominantly two-pulsed rather than three. All individuals were detected from the banks of two streams in Ankarafa Forest. The new species represents the only member of the B. rappiodes group endemic to Madagascar’s western coast, with the majority of other members known from the eastern rainforest belt. Despite its conspicuous call, it has not been detected from other surveys of northwest Madagascar and it is likely to be a local endemic to the peninsula. The ranges of two other amphibian species also appear restricted to Sahamalaza, and so the area seems to support a high level of endemicity. Although occurring inside a National Park, this species is highly threatened by the continuing decline in the quality and extent of its habitat. Due to these threats it is proposed that this species should be classified as Critically Endangered according to the IUCN Red List criteria.     

Systematic revision of the genus Aglyptodactylus Boulenger, 1919 (Amphibia: Ranidae), and analysis of its phylogenetic relationships to other Madagascan ranid genera (Tomopterna, Boophis, Mantidactylus, and Mantella)

Recent field studies revealed two new species of the genus Aglyptodactylus (Amphibia: Anura: Ranidae), which was hitherto considered as monotypic and confined to humid eastern Madagascar. Both new species, Aglyptodactylus laticeps sp. n. and Aglyptodactylus securifer sp. n. , occur syntopically in the deciduous dry forest of Kirindy in western Madagascar. In comparison to Aglyptodactylus madagascariensis from eastern rainforests, the new species A. laticeps shows a remarkable morphological divergence, which may be partly due to adaptations to burrowing habits in dry environments. Despite of the morphological differentiation, advertisement calls and osteology indicate that all three species of Aglyptodactylus are closely related. A phylogenetic analysis of the Madagascan ranid genera Aglyptodactylus, Mantella, Mantidactylus, Boophis , and Tomopterna (the latter including species from Madagascar, Africa, and Asia) strongly supports a sister group relationship of Aglyptodactylus with the ranine genus Tomopterna . We therefore transfer Aglyptodactylus from the Rhacophorinae to the Raninae and discuss implications of this rearrangement for ranoid systematics. The existence of the endemic genus Aglyptodactylus in Madagascar as well as its close phylogenetic relationships to Tomopterna confirm that the Raninae were already present on the Madagascan plate before its separation from Africa. The Madagascan Tomopterna labrosa shows several important differences both to Asian and to African species of the genus, and is therefore transferred from the subgenus Sphaerotheca (now restricted to Asia) to a new subgenus Laliostoma subgen. n .