Description
The smallest known mantellid species; males 11-13 mm, females 15-16 mm. Fourth finger shorter than second or of similar length. Skin on the back smooth. Dorsally light brown or reddish brown with a distinct border towards the grayish flanks. A white frenal stripe, much more distinct in females and sometimes continued along the entire flanks. A pair of larger blackish spots on the posterior portion of the back. Ventrum silvery with translucent shade, throat silvery in males (Glaw and Vences 2007).

Blommersia species are generally similar, but at least slightly larger and with different relative finger length (Glaw and Vences 2007).

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Madagascar

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

Antsirasira (Glaw and Vences 2007). It occurs at 100 m asl in rainforest and temporary pond in a cacao plantation, living in leaf-litter (Andreone and Vences 2008).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
Habits: Captured in the vicinity of a small pond in a plantation of large trees and scattered cacao plants. Observed during day and night. One dissected female contained 28 yellowish eggs of 0.9 mm diameter (Glaw and Vences 2007).

Calls: Feeble chirps of one male were heard at night (Glaw and Vences 2007).

Trends and Threats
Locally abundant in the small area where it has been found. It is not known from any protected areas, although it can clearly tolerate altered habitat (Andreone and Vences 2008).

Possible reasons for amphibian decline

General habitat alteration and loss

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

References

Andreone, F. and Vences, M. (2008). Wakea madinika. In: IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 21 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 2021 Wakea madinika <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/6063> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Dec 21, 2024.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 21 Dec 2024.

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