Madagascar frogs

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Madagascar frogs
Golden frog (Mantella aurantiaca)

Golden frog ( Mantella aurantiaca )

Systematics
Superclass : Jaw mouths (Gnathostomata)
Row : Land vertebrates (Tetrapoda)
without rank: Amphibians (Lissamphibia)
Order : Frog (anura)
Subordination : Neobatrachia
Family : Madagascar frogs
Scientific name
Mantellidae
Laurent , 1946
Boophis pyrrhus

Madagascar frogs (Mantellidae) form a family of frogs . The best-known representative is the uniformly orange colored gold frog , after which the entire family or at least the genus Mantella is sometimes named. Madagascar frogs are endemic to Madagascar and the small northern neighboring island of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean and represent the largest part of the amphibian fauna of Madagascar - the other species on the island mainly belong to the narrow-mouth frogs (Microhylidae) and the reed frogs (Hyperoliidae).

features

They are mostly small to medium-sized frogs with a head-trunk length of 1.5 to 5 centimeters. Some species become significantly larger, Mantidactylus guttulatus, for example, reaches a head-trunk length of 10 to 12 centimeters.

The lively and sometimes extremely colorful animals produce effective skin toxins , so-called lipophilic alkaloids . This evolutionary development, like the anatomical blueprint, the ecology and the intense coloration, can be viewed as a biological convergence to the poison dart frogs of Latin America.

Way of life

The species of the genus Mantella usually live diurnally , predominantly on the ground in moist to swampy mountain forests, but also near the coast. The other members of the family look more like tree frogs and, like them, climb in the vegetation with the help of adhesive discs on the limbs.

Madagascar frogs , at least of the genus Mantella , are one of the few frogs that carry out internal fertilization (compare also: tail frogs ). This was first noticed when solitary females were observed laying down their subsequently developing spawn . The males release their sperm at the amplexus on the back of the females, where the seminal fluid runs down to the cloaca and is absorbed there. The eggs are deposited on land on the ground or on plants as small clutches near water, so that the hatching tadpoles can meander to reach the water, in which they continue their development up to metamorphosis . In some species, however, there is also direct development within the eggs. This is where ready-made young frogs hatch from the eggs.

Taxonomy

Boophis bottae; Females with eggs visible through the skin
Embryos in the spawn of Guibemantis pulcher on the leaf of a screw tree in Ranomafana National Park
Aglyptodactylus madagascariensis
Mantella baroni
Spinomantis fimbriatus

After the subfamily Mantellinae were previously assigned to the real frogs (Ranidae) and other representatives to the rowing frogs (Rhacophoridae), a separate family Mantellidae is now formed, in which three subfamilies, twelve genera and over 230 species are differentiated according to the systematics presented here . Numerous new species are also currently being discovered and described.

As of August 21, 2019

Subfamily Boophinae Vences & Glaw , 2001

Subfamily Laliostominae Vences & Glaw, 2001

Subfamily Mantellinae Laurent, 1946

Danger

Various species of Madagascar frogs are threatened by progressive habitat destruction (deforestation, draining of wetlands), especially since they often only colonize very small areas. Despite strict protection regulations - in the Washington Convention for the Protection of Species, for example, all species of the genus Mantella are listed in Appendix II - some species are considered to be popular terrarium pets.

  • Boophis anjanaharibeensis

  • Boophis brachychir

  • Boophis jaegeri

  • Boophis madagascariensis

  • Boophis viridis

  • Blommersia blommersae

  • Gephyromantis sculpturatus

  • Mantella betsileo

  • Mantella crocea

  • Mantella pulchra

  • Mantella viridis

  • Mantidactylus grandidieri

  • Mantidactylus guttulatus

  • Spinomantis phantasticus

  • Spinomantis peraccae

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Laurie J. Vitt & Janalee P. Caldwell: Herpetology, Fourth Edition: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles. 2013, Academic Press, ISBN 9780123869197 , pp. 503-504.
  2. ↑ Darrel R. Frost: Mantellidae Laurent, 1846 . In: Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference . Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History, New York 1998–2019. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  3. ↑ DR Vieites, KC Wollenberg, F. Andreone, J. Köhler, F. Glaw & M. Vences: Vast underestimation of Madagascar's biodiversity evidenced by an integrative amphibian inventory. ( English-language summary of a publication regarding a current inventory of the amphibian fauna of Madagascar, 2009 )
  4. ↑ Press release at idw-online from May 4, 2009 on the above inventory
  5. ↑ Report at Spiegel-online from May 5, 2009 on the above inventory (with some photos of newly discovered species - partly also from the Microhylidae family)
  6. ↑ Mantella at Wisia.de

literature

  • Olga Jovanovic: Natural history of Malagasy poison frogs: experimental analysis of aposematism, morphology of tadpoles, and longevity. Braunschweig 2009, DNB 999986767 (Dissertation TU Braunschweig, Faculty of Life Sciences, 2009, 105 pages, (English)).

Web links

Commons : Madagascar Frogs (Mantellidae)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files