''Dyscophus guineti'', the false tomato frog or the Sambava tomato frog, is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

in the family

Microhylidae The Microhylidae, commonly known as narrow-mouthed frogs, are a geographically widespread family (biology), family of frogs. The 683 species are in 57 genera and 11 subfamilies. Evolution A molecular phylogenetic study by van der Meijden, et al. ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s are

subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Description TSMF is generally found in large ...

, subtropical or tropical

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

s, swamps, freshwater

marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

es, intermittent freshwater marshes, and heavily degraded former forest. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

Description

The ''Dyscophus'' ''guineti'' male frogs are yellowish, and in size 60-65mm. The female frogs are red- orange often with many small reticulations, in size 90-95mm. Some of these frogs have an

Odontoma An odontoma, also known as an odontome, is a benign tumour linked to tooth development. Specifically, it is a dental hamartoma, meaning that it is composed of normal dental tissue that has grown in an irregular way. It includes both odontogenic ...

which are

tumors A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...

from a tooth that also contain tissue. These cause bad tooth eruption and

displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

of erupted teeth. Another aspect which concerns these frogs is the way they capture their prey using their tongues and mouth. It is based on how close their prey is to them, the way they capture it changes. If their prey is smaller and at an azimuthal location of less than 40A degrees, they will aim their heads at the prey and not their tongues. If their prey is larger and at an azimuthal location greater than 40A then they proceed to aim both their head and tongue at their prey. The process when the prey is larger is better known as hydrostatic elongation. The ''Dyscophus'' ''guinteti'' also has tongue movements separate of the lower jaw which changes their speed, momentum, and projection of their tongue in different situations. Monroy, & Nishikawa, K. C. (2009). Prey location, biomechanical constraints, and motor program choice during prey capture in the tomato frog, Dyscophus guineti. Journal of Comparative Physiology., 195(9), 843–852. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-009-0463-2

Ecology and Conservation

In addition to its unique appearance and feeding behaviors, ''Dyscophus'' ''guineti'' is an important species in the Malagasy ecosystem. They are commonly found in mid-altitude regions along the east coast of Madagascar. This species thrives in humid forests and marsh habitats. While this species is native to these environments, their unique coloring has left them highly sought after in pet trades. This highlights the importance of increasing conservation measures to ensure they continue to thrive in the wild. A morphologically similar microhylid frog species to ''D.'' ''guineti'' called ''Dyscophus'' ''antongili'' have been banned in Appendix I of the convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species, However, ''D.'' ''guineti'' are not included. This serves as an issue because due to their flashy coloring, they are highly sought-after in pet trades and often sold as pets.

References

Sources

AmeyZoo: Frogs that are commonly kept as pets
* Giulia Tessa, Fabio M. Guarino, Jasmin E. Randrianirina & Franco Andreone (2011) Age structure in the false tomato frog ''Dyscophus guineti'' from eastern Madagascar compared to the closely related ''D. antongilii'' (Anura, Microhylidae), African Journal of Herpetology, 60:1, 84–88, DOI: 10.1080/21564574.2011.561881. Chiari, Y., Orozco-terWengel, P., Vences, M. et al. Genetic identification of units for conservation in tomato frogs, genus Dyscophus . Conserv Genet 7, 473–482 (2006). Dyscophus Endemic frogs of Madagascar Amphibians described in 1875 Taxa named by Alfred Grandidier Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Microhylidae-stub