Description
Boophis luciae is a relatively slim species of frog with a snout-vent length of 23.9 – 31.3 mm in males, and 42.1 – 42.7 mm in females. The length of the head is greater than its width, and is a bit wider than the body width. The snout appears round when viewed from above and the sides. The nostrils are directed towards the sides, and are positioned closer to the tip snout than to the eye. The canthus rostralis is curved, though it appears straight when viewed from above. The region between the eye and the nostril is curved somewhat inwards, and the tympanum is round and prominent with a faint fold on it. The skin on the back is smooth, and coarse on the underside. The arms are slim, with isolated round subarticular tubercles. The metacarpal tubercles are indistinct. There is some webbing on the fingers, and the fingers have dermal fringes. The relative finger lengths are: I < II < IV < III. The fingertips are expanded. The legs are slim, and the underside of the thighs is smooth. The inner metatarsal tubercle is small, prominent, and extended. There is no outer metatarsal tubercle. The toes are fairly webbed. The relative toe lengths are: I < II < V = III < IV. The toe tips are expanded (Glaw et al. 2010).

It is ascribed to the genus Boophis based on the following combination of characters: intercalary element present on the last two fingers and toes; no femoral or gular glands in males; axillary amplexus; expanded fingertips and toe tips; webbing between the lateral metatarsalia; no outer metatarsal tubercle. It is considered part of the B. albipunctatus group separate from other Boophis species based on the following combination of characters: small size; no tubercles or flaps on the heels and elbows; webbed fingers; faint canthus rostralis; radiant green back with white dots; no red coloration on the underside; non-transparent skin on the underside in life; one vocal sac; presence of vomerine teeth. Within the B. albipunctatus group, it is similar to B. albipunctatus and B. sibilans by the following combination of characters: prominent brown marks on the iris; presence of small prominent white spots on the back. Furthermore, B. luciae can be differentiated by these two similar species by its smaller body and advertisement call (Glaw et al. 2010).

In life, the backside is bright green and punctuated with small white dots. Some brown dots are found on the head and back, particularly by the sides of the middle of the back. The posterior region of the sides is transparent. The skin on the underside is transparent, with a white peritoneum. The underside of the limbs is transparent blue. The iris is gold, with an orange border and purple markings. The border of the eye is black towards the rear, then blue, and then black again. In alcohol, the backside is creamy yellow, and the spots turn dark in color. There are small brown spots on the middle of the back and by the nostrils. The rear part of the eye is purple (Glaw et al. 2010).

The females are larger in size than the males. The males have a vocal sac (Glaw et al. 2010).

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Madagascar

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

It has only been found in Ambatolahy, in and around Ranomafana National Park, Andohahela National Park, An’Ala, Andasibe, Vohidrazan, and Ranomena in Madagascar (Glaw et al. 2010).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
Males are found calling at night in vegetation up to 4 meters above the ground by streams in primary and degraded rainforest. The height of calling makes it difficult to observe, but along some streams, males can be found calling in high densities. Amplexus pairs and non-calling individuals can sometimes also be found at lower perches later in the night (Glaw et al. 2010).

There are three different call types that also vary based on locality. Type 1 is composed of long trill notes in regular intervals of 5 - 10 pulses. At Ranomena note durations are 146 - 201 ms with inter-note intervals last between 288 - 497 ms, and a note repetition rate of 1.7 - 2.0 notes/second. At Vohiparara, note durations are 152 - 213 ms with inter-note intervals last between 250 - 529 ms, and a note repetition rate of 1.6 - 2.0 notes/second. Type 2 is composed of 9 - 13 whistles in short intervals. At Ranomena note durations are 18 - 101 ms with inter-note intervals last between 39 -106 ms, and a note repetition rate of 7.5 -9.8 notes/second. At Vohiparara, note durations are 23 - 81 ms with inter-note intervals last between 62 - 103 ms, and a note repetition rate of 6.6 - 7.6 notes/second. Type 3 is composed of 3 - 6 click notes with long separations in between followed by whistling. At Ranomena note durations are 15 - 39 ms with inter-note intervals last between 395 - 527 ms. At Vohiparara, note durations are 26 - 41 ms with inter-note intervals last between 467 -599 ms. Dominate frequency ranged from 3000 - 4500 Hz with a maximum call energy of 3600 - 4300 Hz at Ranomena and was 2950 - 3900 Hz and 3150 - 3800 Hz at Vohiparara, respectively (Glaw et al. 2010).

Amplexus is axillary (Glaw et al. 2010).

Trends and Threats
It is widespread and common in its range (Glaw et al. 2010).

Possible reasons for amphibian decline

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

Comments
The species authority is: Glaw, F., Köhler, J., De La Riva, I., Vieites, D. R., Vences, M. (2010). "Integrative taxonomy of Malagasy treefrogs: combination of molecular genetics, bioacoustics and comparative morphology reveals twelve additional species of Boophis." Zootaxa, 2383, 1-82.

It is ascribed to the aforementioned B. albipunctatus species group, which includes B. albipunctatus, B. luciae, and B. sibilans, with B. luciae being basal to the other two species. This provides evidence for the existence of two subclades supported by morphological and molecular data, with the first subclade comprising B. ankaratra, B. schuboeae, and allied species, and the second subclade comprising the B. albipunctatus species group. Boophis luciae has a genetic divergence of 4.8 – 6.2% from B. sibilans, and 6.4 – 7.6% from B. albipunctatus in the mitochondrial 16S rRNA region (Glaw et al. 2010).

The species epithet, luciae, is named after Ignacio De la Riva’s daughter, Lucia, as an apology for working abroad (Glaw et al. 2010).

Boophis luciae has been called Boophis sp. aff. sibilans and Boophis sp. in previous publications (Glaw et al. 2010).

References

Glaw, F., Kohler, J., De La Riva, I., Vieites, D.R., Vences, M. (2010). "Integrative taxonomy of Malagasy treefrogs: combination of molecular genetics, Bioacoustics and comparative morphology reveals twelve additional species of Boophis." Zootaxa, 2383, 1-82. [link]

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2021 Boophis luciae <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/7462> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Nov 26, 2024.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 26 Nov 2024.

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