Abstract
We describe a fantastic new species of forest frog (Mantellidae: Gephyromantis: subgenus: Laurentomantis) from moderately high elevations in the vicinity of Andasibe, Madagascar. This region has been surveyed extensively and has a remarkably high anuran diversity with many undocumented species still being discovered. Surprisingly, by exploring areas around Andasibe that lacked biodiversity surveys, we discovered a spectacular and clearly morphologically distinct species, previously unknown to science, Gephyromantis marokorokosp. nov., documented for the first time in 2015. The new species is well characterised by a very rugose and granular dorsum, dark brown skin with bright red mottling, sparse light orange to white spots on the ventre, vibrant red eyes and femoral glands present only in males that consist of eight medium-sized granules. Bioacoustically, the new species has a quiet advertisement call that differs from related species by having a moderate call duration, 2–4 strongly pulsed notes and a slow note repetition rate. Furthermore, it has substantial differentiation in mitochondrial DNA, with pairwise distances of 7–9% to all other related species in sequences of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA marker. Additional evidence is given through a combined four mitochondrial markers and four nuclear exons concatenated species tree, strongly supporting G. striatus as the sister species of the new species in both analyses. The discovery of this new species highlights the need for continued inventory work in high elevation rainforests of Madagascar, even in relatively well-studied regions.
Highlights
Madagascar hosts an impressively diverse and almost entirely endemic amphibian fauna, diversified into a multitude of different habitats and micro-habitats (Glaw and Vences 2007)
Despite the Andasibe region being one of the most well-studied areas in Madagascar (Vieites et al 2009), this study shows that clearly recognisable new species that have not been barcoded are still being discovered by recent surveys
We discovered a morphologically distinct new species belonging to the subgenus Laurentomantis from Gephyromantis in the Andasibe area of Northern Central East Madagascar (Fig. 1), present at high elevations in several small forest fragments
Summary
Madagascar hosts an impressively diverse and almost entirely endemic amphibian fauna, diversified into a multitude of different habitats and micro-habitats (Glaw and Vences 2007). Brown leaf litter frogs, members of the genus Gephyromantis Methuen, 1920 are well represented in Madagascar. Brown, leaf litter frogs in Madagascar are members of Microhylidae, but Mantellidae has some representatives in the genus Gephyromantis Methuen, 1920. Gephyromantis is a genus within the Malagasy-Comoran endemic family Mantellidae (Glaw and Vences 2007).
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