''Boehmantis'' is a genus of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...

s in the mantellid subfamily

Mantellinae Mantellinae is a subfamily of frogs in the family Mantellidae. These frogs are native to Madagascar and Mayotte. The species vary in size from under 25 mm (e.g. some species of '' Blommersia'') to over 100 mm (e.g. '' Mantidactylus gut ...

. It is monotypic, being represented by a single species, ''Boehmantis microtympanum''. The genus is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

Taxonomy

''Boehmantis microtympanum'' was originally described in the genus ''

Mantidactylus ''Mantidactylus'' is a frog genus in the mantellid subfamily Mantellinae. This genus is restricted to Madagascar. The genus is divided into several subgenera that form monophyletic genetic clusters and are ecologically similar. Taxonomy ''Man ...

'' by

Fernand Angel Fernand Angel (2 February 1881, Douzy – 13 July 1950, Paris) was a French herpetologist. In 1905 he began work as Assistant Preparator under Léon Vaillant and François Mocquard at the ''Muséum national d'histoire naturelle'' in Paris. Later o ...

. The species was transferred to its own genus, ''Boehmantis'', by

Frank Glaw Frank Rainer Glaw (born 22 March 1966 in Düsseldorf) is a German herpetologist working at the Zoologische Staatssammlung München. Glaw studied biology in Cologne from 1987, where he completed his diploma. Thereafter, he attended the Universit ...

and

Miguel Vences Professor Miguel Vences (born 24 April 1969 in Cologne) is a German herpetologist and evolutionary biologist. Much of his research is focused on the reptiles and amphibians of Madagascar. Life The son of Galician philosopher Sergio Vences Fer ...

. This was justified using molecular data as well as by the lack of femoral glands, which are present in all other species in the subfamily Mantellinae.

Etymology

The generic name honours , German herpetologist.

Description

''Boehmantis microtympanum'' are relatively large frogs, with adults measuring in

snout–vent length Snout–vent length (SVL) is a morphometric measurement taken in herpetology from the tip of the snout to the most posterior opening of the cloacal slit (vent)."direct line distance from tip of snout to posterior margin of vent" It is the most c ...

. The tympanum is rather indistinct and small. The finger and toe tips bear well-developed discs; the fingers have no webbing whereas the toes are fully webbed. Dorsal skin is smooth. The dorsal colouration varies from olive greenish to—especially in subadults—brown, with lighter or darker indistinct markings. The ventral parts are white, often with dark spots or marblings on the throat and chest. This species is not known to be able to

call Call or Calls may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * Call, a type of betting in poker * Call, in the game of contract bridge, a bid, pass, double, or redouble in the bidding stage Music and dance * Call (band), from Lahore, Paki ...

Distribution and habitat

This species is

to southeastern

and is known from

Midongy du sud National Park Midongy du sud National Park (also known as Midongy-Befotaka) is a national park in the region of Atsimo-Atsinanana, in south-east Madagascar. The park has the second largest rainforest on the island and is rich in endemic animals and plants, es ...

south to

Andohahela National Park Andohahela National Park, in south-east Madagascar, is remarkable for the extremes of habitats that are represented within it. The park covers of the Anosy mountain range, the southernmost spur of the Malagasy Highlands and contains the last hum ...

. It occurs in pristine and degraded forests, usually in mature ones, with one record from an open area next to a relict forest. It lives in fast-flowing, rocky streams at elevations of

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

Conservation status

''Boehmantis microtympanum'' is currently considered Vulnerable by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

due to its limited range and ongoing

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

. Nevertheless, it is locally common and occurs in two national parks (Midongy du sud and Andohahela) as well as in

Tsitongambarika Tsitongambarika is a lowland forest in the north of Fort Dauphin (Madagascar), Fort-Dauphin, village Iabakoho, Anosy in southern Madagascar. The area supports many rare species of amphibians, birds, lemurs and reptiles; many of which are Endemism, ...

Classified Forest.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q10740461, from2=Q28008129 Mantellidae Monotypic amphibian genera Endemic frogs of Madagascar Taxa named by Frank Glaw Taxa named by Miguel Vences Taxonomy articles created by Polbot