hear call (145.0K MP3 file)

	hear Fonozoo call
[call details here]

Description
A medium-sized green treefrog. Males 31-39 mm, females unknown.

Holotype: Adult male, ZFMK 57390, from the Marojezy massif at low altitude, NE-Madagascar. SVL 33 mm, head width 11.5 mm; eye diameter 4.3 mm, horizontal diameter of tympanum 1.9 mm; distance eye-nostril 2.1 mm, distance nostril-tip of snout 2.4 mm; hand length 10.3 mm, length of foot and tarsus 24.5 mm. Tibiotarsal articulation reaches slightly beyond tip of snout. Tips of fingers and toes circularly enlarged. The tibia is clearly longer than the foot. Vomerine teeth are present.

Webbing of the hand 1(-), 2i(-), 2e(1), 3i(2), 3e(1.25), 4(0.75); webbing of the foot 1(0), 2i(0.25), 2e(0), 3i(0.75), 3e(0.5), 4i/e(1), 5(0). Paired subgular vocal sacs were observed during the call. Distinct nuptial pad on the inner side of the first finger. Skin on the back smooth. In life dorsally green, with many small dark green spots. No trace of a dorsolateral band. Lower arm and tarsus with white fringes. Venter yellow, ventral surface of fingertips green. Ventral surface of arms and legs bluish green. Throat whitish to light green. In preservative ventral and dorsal surface uniformly yellowish white. Iris beige to silvery grey with indistinct reddish markings in the middle. There is no red ring on the outer iris area. Posterior iris periphery blue.

Similar species: The most similar taxon is Boophis luteus septentrionalis, which differs mainly by the mating call.

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Madagascar

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

Andrakata, Ilampy, Marojejy. It occurs at 300m asl in primary and secondary rainforest, but not in open areas (Glaw and Vences 2008).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
Habits: Calling males were heard at night in March near brooks in primary forest (Marojezy) and in secondary vegetation (Andrakata). At Marojezy they call in syntopy with Boophis marojezensis, which have a very similar call. However calling males of both species were clearly seen by different people. Therefore confusion of the species can be excluded.

Call (from the terra typica): A series of typically 4 melodious whistling notes which are frequency-modulated: frequency increases from the beginning of the call, reaches a peak and often decreases very slightly again towards the end of the call. Frequency is between 3.5 and 4.5 kHz. Call duration is about 740 ms, intervals between calls last 1300-1700 ms, call repetition rate is 26-30/min. In all analyzed calls the first note is the shortest (92 ms); the other notes have roughly a similar duration (156-166 ms), but often an increasing note length towards the end of the call was noted. Duration of intervals between first and second note is 95 ms, between the other notes 50-60 ms.

Breeding takes place in streams (Glaw and Vences 2008).

Eggs and tadpoles: Unknown.

Trends and Threats
Data Deficient: uncertainties related to extent of occurrence, status and ecological requirements. This species occurs in Parc National de Marojejy (Glaw and Vences 2008).

Possible reasons for amphibian decline

General habitat alteration and loss
Habitat modification from deforestation, or logging related activities
Intensified agriculture or grazing
Urbanization
Habitat fragmentation

Comments
Derivatio nominis: Dedicated to Prof. Dr. Hans Engländer, Köln, with best wishes to his 80th birthday.

Taken with permission from Glaw and Vences (2007).

References

Glaw, F. and Vences, M. (1994). Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar. M. Vences and F. Glaw Verlags GbR., Köln.

Glaw, F. and Vences, M. (2008). Boophis englaenderi. In: IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 08 April 2009.

Glaw, F., and Vences, M. (2007). Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar. Third Edition. Vences and Glaw Verlag, Köln.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2009 Boophis englaenderi <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/4339> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Nov 22, 2024.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 22 Nov 2024.

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