hear call (206.1K MP3 file)

	hear Fonozoo call
[call details here]

Description
A medium-sized frog. M 29-30 mm, F 32-35 mm. Tibiotarsal articulation reaches at least the nostril and often beyond snout tip. Hand with some webbing, foot webbing 1(0), 2i(0.5), 2e(0), 3i(0.5), 3e(0), 4i/e(1), 5(0). Dorsal skin smooth. Dorsally usually greenish, sometimes with small or larger interspersed reddish dots. Especially subadults and at night, specimens can change colour to become more reddish brown. Outer iris area distinctly blue, iris periphery blue.

Similar species: The remaining species of the B. rappiodes-group are smaller and differ by iris colouration. Species of the B. luteus-group have white lateral fringes along the lower arm and tarsus (Glaw and Vences 2007)

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Madagascar

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

Andasibe, Andringitra (Iantara river), Ankopakopaka forest, Mahakajy private reserve (near Ranomafana), Mananara, Manombo, Mantadia, Marotreho forest. It occurs between 350-1,100m asl in pristine and secondary rainforest, but not in open habitats (Nussbaum and Andreone 2008).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
Habits: Males call at night from perches in the vegetation 1-2 m above the ground, along relatively slow-moving streams and ditches. During dry weather, calling specimens have also been observed up to 5 m high. One amplecting pair laid 154 dark brown eggs.

Calls: Consist of two unharmonious and pulsed note types. The longer note type contains up to 40 pulses and is sometimes repeated in short series. The shorter note type consists of three, rarely four pulses, and is usually emitted in series of 2-3 notes.

Breeding takes place in streams (Nussbaum and Andreone 2008).

Trends and Threats
Least Concern: wide distribution, tolerance habitat modification, and large population. It occurs in several protected areas (Nussbaum and Andreone 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
Account based with permission from Glaw and Vences (2007).

This species was featured as News of the Week September 23, 2024:

Understanding biodiversity requires first understanding it and we know there are many more species in nature than have yet been described by taxonomists. This so-called "Linnean shortfall" has driven biodiversity scientists to develop methods that can be used to identify hidden and otherwise cryptic species masquerading under current taxonomy in hopes of putting a spotlight on examples of underestimated species diversity to encourage greater taxonomic effort. Carné and Vieites (2024) attempt to estimate the Linnean shortfall for two diverse families of Malagasy frogs, Mantellidae and Microhylidae. They compiled 10,873 mitochondrial sequences along with all previously published bioacoustics, distributional, morphological and nuclear data and then apply species delimitation algorithms to identify as many as 408 undescribed Malagasy mantellid and microhylid frogs (they consider these to be possible species in need of further confirmation). Why is knowing the number of species important? Because "species" are the basic units with which we often attempt to quantify diversity, knowing the number of species will impact many different kinds of downstream research, but perhaps most importantly efforts to establish conservation priorities in one of the most biodiverse and threatened landscapes on Earth. (Written by Leticia M. Ochoa Ochoa)

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

Nussbaum, R. and Andreone, F. (2008). Boophis viridis. In: IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 14 April 2009.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2024 Boophis viridis: Green Bright-eyed Frog <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/4363> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Nov 23, 2024.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 23 Nov 2024.

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