''Gephyromantis spiniferus'' 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

Mantellidae The Mantellidae are an amphibian family (biology), family of the order (biology), order Frog, Anura (frogs and toads), and are Endemism, endemic to the Indian Ocean islands of Madagascar and Mayotte. At first glance, the diminutive, brightly-col ...

. 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 ...

to southeastern

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 ...

between Andringitra and

Andohahela The Andohahela National Park is situated in Anosy in the south-east of Madagascar. It is remarkable for the extremes of habitats that are represented within it. The park covers of the Anosy mountain range, the southernmost spur of the Malagasy H ...

. Common name greater spiny Madagascar frog has been coined for it. ''Gephyromantis spiniferus'' occurs in pristine rainforests at elevations of

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

, particularly in association with bamboo. It lives on the forest floor. Presumably, breeding involves direct development (i.e., no free-living larval stage). It is a rare species with a patchy distribution. 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 ...

and degradation caused by

subsistence agriculture Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow crops on smallholdings to meet the needs of themselves and their families. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements. Planting decisions occu ...

, timber extraction, charcoal manufacture, invasive spread of eucalyptus, livestock grazing, and expanding human settlements. The fungus '' Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis'' has been detected in ''Gephyromantis'' species, but there is so far no evidence of negative effects. This species is present in the Kalambatritra Special Reserve,

Andohahela National Park The Andohahela National Park is situated in Anosy in the south-east of Madagascar. It is remarkable for the extremes of habitats that are represented within it. The park covers of the Anosy mountain range, the southernmost spur of the Malagasy H ...

, and

Andringitra National Park Andringitra National Park is a national park in the Haute Matsiatra region of Madagascar, south of Ambalavao. The park was established in 1999 and is managed by the Madagascar National Parks Association. It was inscribed in the World Heritage Sit ...

References

spiniferus Endemic frogs of Madagascar Amphibians described in 1991 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Mantellidae-stub