''Mantella madagascariensis'', common names Malagasy painted mantella, Madagascan mantella, Madagascar golden frog, Malagasy mantella and painted mantella, is a species 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 ...

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 ...

Distribution

This species 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 ...

. It is present in the East-central Madagascar in upland locations from near Niagarakely south to Ranomafana, at an elevation of above sea level. It is threatened by

habitat loss 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 ...

and it may be threatened by commercial collection.

Habitat

Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s are

subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Description TSMF is generally found in large, discont ...

, subtropical or tropical moist

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

, and

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

s.Andreone, F. & Glaw, F. 2004.
Mantella madagascariensis

2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

Description

''Mantella madagascariensis'' can reach a body length of in males, of in females. These tiny but stout frogs are rather variable in color and markings, as they are irregularly streaked in black and yellow. Usually they have a blackish body, but the dorsum is commonly black. A green or yellowish rostral stripe is running along the head. Femur and humerus are usually yellow to green, while tibia, tarsus and foot are reddish-orange, with blackish patches. Blotches of yellow-green color extends to flanks close to the forelimbs.Amphibia Web, University of California
/ref> Some authors consider ''Mantella madagascariensis'' a complex of cryptic species. This species is closely related to '' Mantella pulchra'' and very similar to ''

Mantella baroni ''Mantella baroni'' (often known by its common names, such as Baron's mantella, the variegated golden frog, or the Madagascar poison frog) is a species of small poisonous frog in the family Mantellidae. The species was first formally described ...

''.

Mantellidae - Mantella madagascariensis.JPG, ''Mantella madagascariensis'' Mantella baroni01.jpg, ''

'' Mantella pulchra01.jpg, '' Mantella pulchra''

Biology

Little is known about the biology of the species. These frogs are terrestrial and are active on the ground during the day. They prefer forest and forest edge, especially along streams. Breeding occurs in streams. Females lay eggs on land, but the larvae develop in water streams. Like all ''Mantella'' species, these frogs has several toxic alkaloids in its skin.Marta Andriantsiferana et al. (2005). ”New Lipophilic Alkaloids from Mantella frogs collected in Madagascar”. NAPRECA (Natural Product Research Network for Eastern and Central Africa)

Bibliography

*Chiari, Y., M. Vences, D. R. Vieites, F. C. E. Rabemananjara, P. Bora, O. R. Ravoahangimalala, and A. Meyer. 2004. New evidence for parallel evolution of colour patterns in Malagasy poison frogs (Mantella). ''Molecular Ecology'' 13: 376303774 *Daly, J. W., N. R. Andriamaharavo, M. Andriantsiferana, and C. W. Myers. 1996. Madagascan poison frogs (Mantella) and their skin alkaloids. ''American Museum Novitates'' 3177: 1–34. *Glaw, F., and M. Vences. 2006. Complete classification of species in the family Mantellidae Laurent, 1946. ''Organisms, Diversity & Evolution'', Electronic Supplement 11(1): 1–3. *Glaw, F., and M. Vences. 2007. ''A Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar''. Third edition. Cologne: Vences & Glaw Verlag *Stuart, S. N., M. Hoffmann, J. Chanson, N. Cox, R. Berridge, P. Ramani, and B. Young eds., 2008. Threatened Amphibians of the World. Barcelona, Spain; International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Gland. Switzerland; Conservation International, Arlington, Virginia, U.S.A.: Lynx Editions. *Vences, M., F. Glaw, and W. Böhme. 1999. A review of the genus Mantella (Anura, Ranidae, Mantellinae): taxonomy, distribution and conservation of Malagasy poison frogs. Alytes. Paris 17: 3–72

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2274131 Mantella Endemic frogs of Madagascar Species endangered by the pet trade Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Amphibians described in 1872 Taxa named by Alfred Grandidier