Abstract
The genus Gephyromantis belongs to the species-rich family Mantellidae and is currently divided in six subgenera. Among these is the subgenus Phylacomantis, which currently includes four described species: Gephyromantis pseudoasper, G. corvus, G. azzurrae, and G. atsingy. The latter three species are distributed in western Madagascar, and two of them (G. azzurrae and G. corvus) occur in the Isalo Massif. Based on the analysis of molecular data (a fragment of the 16S rRNA gene), morphological inspection of museum specimens, and photographic comparisons, G. azzurrae is synonymised with G. corvus and the second Phylacomantis lineage of Isalo is described as G. kintanasp. nov. This medium-sized frog species (adult snout-vent length 35–44 mm) is assigned to this subgenus according to genetic and morphological similarities to the other known species of Phylacomantis. Gephyromantis kintanasp. nov. is known only from the Isalo Massif, while new records for G. corvus extend its range to ca. 200 km off its currently known distribution. These two taxa seem to occur in syntopy in at least one locality in Isalo, and the easiest way to distinguish them is the inspection of the ventral colouration, dark in G. corvus and dirty white in G. kintana.
Highlights
The biodiversity hotspot of Madagascar hosts a unique, diverse, and imperilled ecosystem (Myers et al 2000; Goodman and Benstead 2003, 2005)
No precise locality data are available for the collection of this specimen, but after morphological study of this specimen, and of the type series of G. corvus and G. azzurrae (Table 2; Figs 2, 3) we conclude that: 1) G. corvus and G. azzurrae are conspecific; 2) specimen ZFMK 70494 is different from the holotypes of G. corvus and G. azzurrae and since no name is available for this taxon, it needs to be formally described
The deep genetic difference they observed between the analysed sequences of the type series of G. azzurrae and the sequence of the ZFMK 70494 specimen convinced Mercurio and Andreone (2007) that the lineage they collected in Andriamanero, Iambahatsy, and Sakamalio was different from G. corvus and belonged to a different, and still undescribed, species
Summary
The biodiversity hotspot of Madagascar hosts a unique, diverse, and imperilled ecosystem (Myers et al 2000; Goodman and Benstead 2003, 2005). The island’s amphibians contribute significantly to its rich biodiversity with 100% of the autochthonous species being endemic to the country (Glaw and Vences 2007; Perl et al 2014; Zimkus et al 2017). All native amphibians of Madagascar are anurans and belong to four distinct families: Mantellidae Laurent, 1946, Microhylidae Günther, 1858, Hyperoliidae Laurent, 1943 and Ptychadenidae Dubois, 1987 (Glaw and Vences 2007; Crottini et al 2012). The family Mantellidae is the most species rich clade with ca. 230 currently described species (AmphibiaWeb 2020) and several new species are awaiting formal description (Vieites et al 2009; Perl et al 2014). Based on significant genetic differentiation, habitat requirement and morphology mantellin frogs are classified in nine recognised genera: Blommersia Dubois, 1992, Boehmantis Glaw & Vences, 2006, Gephyromantis Methuen, 1920, Guibemantis Dubois, 1992, Mantella Boulenger, 1882, Mantidactylus Boulenger, 1895, Spinomantis Dubois, 1992, Tsingymantis Glaw, Hoegg and Vences 2006 and Wakea Glaw & Vences, 2006 (Glaw and Vences 2006, 2007)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
