''Scaphiophryne marmorata'' 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

Microhylidae The Microhylidae, commonly known as narrow-mouthed frogs, are a geographically widespread family of frogs. The 683 species are in 63 genera and 11 subfamilies, which is the largest number of genera of any frog family. Evolution A molecular phylo ...

. It is commonly known as the green burrowing frog and the marbled rain frog. It 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 classified as "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 ...

as 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 ...

Taxonomy

A revision of the ''Scaphiophryne marmorata'' complex was undertaken in 2003 and as a result, '' Scaphiophryne spinosa'' was removed from

synonymy A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

with ''Scaphiophryne marmorata'' and a new species, '' Scaphiophryne boribory'', was described.

Description

The female green burrowing frog grows to a length of about but the male is smaller at . It is nearly globular in shape with a small, flattened head, short snout, prominent eyes and well muscled limbs. The skin of the back is mostly smooth but there are two symmetrical pairs of thorny tubercles on the upper back. The digits on both fore and hind limbs are elongated which helps the frog to clamber around in trees and bushes. There are expanded discs at the end of the fingers which is a distinctive feature of this species. The hind limbs are short with bony flanges on the heels to help with digging. The colour is a bright green liberally spotted with darker green and black patches. In the western part of its range the colour is more olive. The underside is often marbled with white.

Distribution and habitat

The green burrowing frog is found in the

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

s of eastern Madagascar and in the drier western half of the island. It occurs up to above sea level.

Biology

The green burrowing frog spends much of its time buried in dead leaves on the forest floor but when it emerges it often climbs into the branches of bushes and small trees to catch the insects on which it feeds. Little is known of the breeding habits of this frog but it is believed to be an "explosive" breeder, with all the frogs in an area coming together at one time to mate and

spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawn (biology), the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment, and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** '' Spawn: Ar ...

in temporary pools at the beginning of the rainy season. The

tadpole A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found i ...

s are likely to grow quickly so as to be mature enough to live independently when the pools dry up.

Status

The green burrowing frog is listed as "Vulnerable" in the

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...

. This is because, though it is locally abundant, its range in Madagascar is small and fragmented, it is threatened by habitat loss and populations seem to be in decline. A small number of individuals are gathered for the pet trade but the possibility of captive breeding is being investigated which would ease this pressure. This frog has a secure environment in the several national parks in which it is found.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2400810 Scaphiophryne Endemic frogs of Madagascar Taxa named by George Albert Boulenger Amphibians described in 1882 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot