Description
M 33-35 mm, F 36-40 mm (Mercurio and Andreone 2007). Slender body. Snout pointed when viewed dorsally, rounded when viewed laterally. Canthus rostralis is straight. Supratympanic fold present. Tympana elliptical, with males having larger tympana. Males also have a single subgular vocal sac, and lack nuptial pads. Slender arms, fingers without webbing. Fingertips moderately enlarged into elliptical discs. Metatarsalia are separated. Toes are webbed. Inner metatarsal tubercles are present but outer metarsal tubercles are absent. Tibiotarsal articulation reaches between eye and nostrils. Femoral glands of type 3 are present (larger in males). Smooth skin dorsally and ventrally except for femoral glands. Genetic and bioacoustic data place this species in the subgenus Brygoomantis (Mercurio and Andreone 2007).

Brown dorsal coloration with slight spotting, particularly on canthus rostralis and posterior to the eyes. Supratympanic fold is darker brown than the tympanum. Faint crossbars on limbs. Venter is whitish with irregular brown markings (Mercurio and Andreone 2007).

Similar species: This species is related to Mantidactylus sp. aff. betsileanus (Glaw and Vences 2007). Adults of M. noralottae can be confused with juveniles of M. cf. femoralis and somewhat with adult specimens of M. sp. aff. ulcerosus (Mercurio and Andreone 2007).

M. noralottae can be distinguished from M. cf. femoralis by coloration (in M. noralottae, lighter dorsal coloration, lack of black stripes, presence of yellow spot on flank; slightly marbled ventrally, no black lines on throat; in M. cf. femoralis, darker dorsally, black stripes present, no yellow spot on flank; heavily marbled on throat, often with black lines on throat, spotted belly), body size (smaller in M. noralottae), body shape (slender in M. noralottae, stout in M. cf. femoralis), and shorter hindlimb length (in M. noralottae, tibiotarsal articulation reaches to between eyes and nostrils; in M. cf. femoralis, tibiotarsal articulation reaches to tip of snout or farther) (Mercurio and Andreone 2007).

M. noralottae can be distinguished from M. sp. aff. ulcerosus by coloration (slight spotting in M. noralottae vs. uniform color or dark patches in M. sp. aff. ulcerosus), smooth dorsal skin (vs. granular in M. sp. aff. ulcerosus), slender body (vs. stout in M. sp. aff. ulcerosus), and single prolonged note in the advertisement call (vs. 8-14 notes for M. sp. aff. ulcerosus) (Mercurio and Andreone 2007).

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Madagascar

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

It has been found at a single locality on the Isalo Massif, at 996 m asl in a rocky canyon (Mercurio and Andreone 2007).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
Scansorial. Mercurio and Andreone (2006) reported that several individuals were found inside one narrow canyon, with calling males clinging to the nearly vertical canyon walls, around 150–200 cm above the ground or water surface. Both females and males were found inside canyon bed water pools (Mercurio and Andreone 2007). This species has also been found in rocky areas within canyons, near cliffs (Andreone and Vences 2008).

Calls consist of a single long note, with a train of 90-100 pulses per note. Each pulse lasts 10-26 milliseconds (ms), each note lasting 2400-2900 ms, and an interval between notes of 5000-7000 ms. The dominant frequency is 1300-1500 Hz, while the fundamental frequency is about 1000 Hz (Mercurio and Andreone 2007).

Breeding is not known. This species probably has larvae (Andreone and Vences 2008).

M. noralottae is sympatric with M. sp. aff. ulcerosus and is syntopic with M. cf. femoralis (Mercurio and Andreone 2007).

Trends and Threats
Vulnerable: known from only a single location, within a protected area: on the Isalo Massif in the Parc National de l’Isalo (Andreone and Vences 2008).

Comments
Taken with permission from Glaw and Vences (2007).

References

Andreone, F. and Vences, M. (2008). Mantidactylus noralottae. In: IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 29 April 2009.

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

Mercurio, V., and Andreone, F. (2006). ''The amphibians of Isalo Massif: high diversity in an apparently unsuitable habitat.'' A Conservation Strategy for the Amphibians of Madagascar, Antananarivo 18–21 Sept. 2006, Book of Abstracts. F. Andreone and H. Randriamahazo, eds., Meeting proceedings.

Mercurio, V., and Andreone, F. (2007). ''Two new canyon-dwelling frogs from the arid sandstone Isalo Massif, central-southern Madagascar (Mantellidae, Mantellinae).'' Zootaxa, 1574, 31-47.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2009 Mantidactylus noralottae <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/6986> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Feb 2, 2025.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2025. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 2 Feb 2025.

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