A distinctive new frog species (Anura, Mantellidae) supports the biogeographic linkage of two montane rainforest massifs in northern Madagascar

We describe a new species of the genus Gephyromantis, subgenus Vatomantis (Mantellidae, Mantellinae), from moderately high elevation (1164–1394 m a.s.l.) on the Marojejy, Sorata, and Andravory Massifs in northern Madagascar. The new species, Gephyromantis (Vatomantis) lomorina sp. n. is highly distinct from all other species, and was immediately recognisable as an undescribed taxon upon its discovery. It is characterised by a granular, mottled black and green skin, reddish eyes, paired subgular vocal sacs of partly white colour, bulbous femoral glands present only in males and consisting of three large granules, white ventral spotting, and a unique, amplitude-modulated advertisement call consisting of a series of 24–29 rapid, quiet notes at a dominant frequency of 5124–5512 Hz. Genetically the species is also strongly distinct from its congeners, with uncorrected pairwise distances ≥10 % in a fragment of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene to all other nominal Gephyromantis species. A molecular phylogeny based on 16S sequences places it in a clade with species of the subgenera Laurentomantis and Vatomantis, and we assign it to the latter subgenus based on its morphological resemblance to members of Vatomantis. We discuss the biogeography of reptiles and amphibians across the massifs of northern Madagascar, the evidence for a strong link between Marojejy and Sorata, and the role of elevation in determining community sharing across this landscape

Win-win opportunities combining high yields with high multi-taxa biodiversity in tropical agroforestry

Resolving ecological-economic trade-offs between biodiversity and yields is a key challenge when addressing the biodiversity crisis in tropical agricultural landscapes. Here, we focused on the relation between seven different taxa (trees, herbaceous plants, birds, amphibians, reptiles, butterflies, and ants) and yields in vanilla agroforests in Madagascar. Agroforests established in forests supported overall 23% fewer species and 47% fewer endemic species than old-growth forests, and 14% fewer endemic species than forest fragments. In contrast, agroforests established on fallows had overall 12% more species and 38% more endemic species than fallows. While yields increased with vanilla vine density and length, non-yield related variables largely determined biodiversity. Nonetheless, trade-offs existed between yields and butterflies as well as reptiles. Vanilla yields were generally unrelated to richness of trees, herbaceous plants, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and ants, opening up possibilities for conservation outside of protected areas and restoring degraded land to benefit farmers and biodiversity alike

Complete mitochondrial genome of the Malagasy poison frog Mantella baroni through RNAseq

Within the Malagasy endemic family of Mantellidae, the only completely sequenced mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) is that of Mantella madagascariensis. Yet, this genome has proven to be the largest among all vertebrates with 23 kbp in size, and shows a duplication of the tRNA methionine coding gene, a pseudogene of this same gene and a duplicated control region. In this study, we report the complete mitochondrial genome of Mantella baroni, the second mitogenome sequenced for the Mantellidae family. This genome sequence has been generated using next-generation sequencing technics performed on Illumina Hi-seq. The genome is 20,945 bp (21 kbp) in size with 13 protein-coding genes, 23 tRNA coding genes, 2 rRNA coding genes and 2 Control Regions (CR1 and CR2). This newly generated mitogenome shows duplication of the tRNA glycine coding gene (G1 and G2) and translocation of tRNA methionine coding gene M2 in the CR2. This gene organization is unique among anurans. Both M. baroni and M. madagascariensis mitogenomes are amongst the largest in vertebrates which might be related to their aposematism or their skin toxicity by alkaloid secretion. We also hypothesize that other Mantella species likely have large genomes, being not clear how the genome size and organization of mitochondria evolved in Malagasy frogs. Testing such a hypothesis require more mitogenome sequencing for Mantella and other representatives of the mantellid diversity. The mitogenome generated here will be useful for comparative genomic studies but also to answer the question on how mitogenomes evolved in the Mantellidae family.This research has received grants of the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (FEDER, EU), grant reference: CGL2013-40924-P, and the Agencia Española de Investigación (AEI/FEDER, EU), grant reference: CGL2017-89898-R.Peer reviewe

A new leaf-tailed gecko of the Uroplatus ebenaui group (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Madagascar's central eastern rainforests

Ratsoavina, Fanomezana Mihaja, Ranjanaharisoa, Fiadanantsoa Andrianja, Glaw, Frank, Raselimanana, Achille P., Miralles, Aurélien, Vences, Miguel (2015): A new leaf-tailed gecko of the Uroplatus ebenaui group (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Madagascar's central eastern rainforests. Zootaxa 4006 (1): 143-160, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4006.1.

Finaritra! A splendid new leaf-tailed gecko (Uroplatus) species from Marojejy National Park in north-eastern Madagascar

Ratsoavina, Fanomezana Mihaja, Raselimanana, Achille P., Scherz, Mark D., Rakotoarison, Andolalao, Razafindraibe, Jary H., Glaw, Frank, Vences, Miguel (2019): Finaritra! A splendid new leaf-tailed gecko (Uroplatus) species from Marojejy National Park in north-eastern Madagascar. Zootaxa 4545 (4): 563-577, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4545.4.

Frogs of the genus Platypelis from the Sorata massif in northern Madagascar: description of a new species and reports of range extensions

Volume: 96Start Page: 263-27