Mini Ature

''Mini ature'' is a species of very small microhylid frog endemic to Madagascar described in 2019. The scientific name of the species refers to its size, being a pun on the word ''miniature''. Although it measures only in snout–vent length, it is the largest species in its genus. The holotype of the species has a light brown back, beige sides, a dark brown underside with beige speckling that turns beige near the bottom, and a dark brown side and back of the head. It is known only from Andohahela National Park in Anosy, Madagascar. Like other species in its genus, it received media attention when first described due to the wordplay in its scientific name.

Taxonomy and systematics

''Mini ature'' was described in 2019 by the herpetologist Mark Scherz and colleagues on the basis of an adult specimen collected in Andohahela National Park in Anosy in Madagascar in 2004. The name ''Mini ature'' is a pun on the word '' miniature'', referring to the extremely small size of the species. It is regarded as an invariable noun (a noun with the same singular and plural forms). Along with '' Mini mum'' and ''Mini scule'', the other two species in its genus, the species received publicity when it was first described due to its humorous scientific name.

It is part of the family Microhylidae, a widespread family of over 650 species of mostly small frogs. It is most closely related to ''Mini scule'', with these two species forming a clade sister to ''Mini mum.'' The study that described the species placed the genus ''Mini'' as sister to ''Plethodontohyla'', despite the former being morphologically more similar to ''Stumpffia''. However, a 2021 phylogeny by Alain Dubois and colleagues instead suggests that to be monophyletic, both ''Plethodontohyla'' and ''Mini'' should be lumped with ''Cophyla.'' This would make the present species' name ''Cophyla ature.''

The following cladograms show the differing phylogenies found by the 2019 and 2021 studies:

Description

Although ''Mini ature'' is an extremely small frog and has a snout–vent length of just , it is the largest species in its genus. After 14 years of preservation in 70% ethanol, the holotype of the species had a light brown back, turning nearly beige at the sides. The side of the head is dark brown, while a trapezoidal area near the vent is brown. A crooked, distinct border is present at the sides, from the nostril through the eyes, ears, and body, up to the groin. Below the border, the body is dark brown with beige speckling, lightening to beige further down. There is a thin beige stripe over the backbone, while the area at the back of the head and the skin above the eyes is dark.

''M. ature'' is rectangular in shape, with a head that is wider than it is long and narrower than the body. The snout is slightly pointed from the top and pointed from the side and the non-protuberant nostrils are pointed towards the sides and equidistant between the tip of the snout and the eyes. The lores are flat and vertical. The second and fourth fingers are reduced, while the first finger is greatly reduced. The first toe is absent and the second and fifth toes are highly reduced. The maxillary and premaxillary teeth are present, but the vomerine teeth are absent.

Within its genus, the species can be told apart by its larger size and shorter hindlimbs. It can be differentiated from ''M. mum'' by the presence of its maxillary and premaxillary teeth, and from ''M. scule'' by its proportionally smaller nasals and braincase. It can be told from most ''Stumpffia'' by its maxillary and premaxillary teeth, and from all of them by its curved clavicles (long bones between the shoulder blade and breastbone) and the loss or fusion of the second carpal. The species' calls are not known.

Distribution

The only known specimen of ''Mini ature'' was collected from the Andohahela National Park in Madagascar, but its total distribution is unknown. As the species is larger than ''M. mum'' and ''M. scule'', its ecology may differ from these correspondingly.

Conservation

''Mini ature'''s conservation status has not been assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, but the authors of the study in which it was described recommended classifying it as data deficient due to the fact that its range and population are unknown and cannot be estimated.

References

{{Taxonbar, from= Q63208617

Cophylinae
Endemic frogs of Madagascar
Amphibians described in 2019
Taxa named by Angelica Crottini
Taxa named by Frank Glaw
Taxa named by Andolalao Rakotoarison
Taxa named by Mark D. Scherz
Taxa named by Miguel Vences
Puns