''Gephyromantis spiniferus'' is a species of frog in the family

Mantellidae The Mantellidae are a family of the order Anura. These frogs are endemic to the islands of Madagascar and Mayotte. Systematics The family Mantellidae is composed of three extremely ecologically diverse groups of frogs, divided into three sub ...

. It is endemic to southeastern Madagascar between Andringitra and

Andohahela 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 hu ...

. Common name greater spiny Madagascar frog has been coined for it. ''Gephyromantis spiniferus'' occurs in pristine rainforests 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 ...

, particularly in association with bamboo. It lives on the forest floor. Presumably, breeding involves direct development (i.e., no free-living larval stage). It is a rare species with a patchy distribution. It is threatened by habitat loss and degradation caused by

subsistence agriculture Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no su ...

, timber extraction, charcoal manufacture, invasive spread of eucalyptus, livestock grazing, and expanding human settlements. The fungus '' Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis'' has been detected in ''Gephyromantis'' species, but there is so far no evidence of negative effects. This species is present in the Kalambatritra Special Reserve, Andohahela National Park, and Andringitra National Park.

References

spiniferus Endemic frogs of Madagascar Amphibians described in 1991 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Mantellidae-stub