''Spinomantis massi'' 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 mantellid

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Mantellinae Mantellinae is a subfamily of frogs in the family Mantellidae. These frogs are native to Madagascar and Mayotte. The species vary in size from under 25 mm (e.g. some species of ''Blommersia'') to over 100 mm (e.g. '' Mantidactylus guttu ...

. 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 the humid forests of northwestern

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 ...

Taxonomy

This species was described in the genus ''

Mantidactylus ''Mantidactylus'' is a frog genus in the mantellid subfamily Mantellinae. This genus is restricted to Madagascar. The genus is divided into several subgenera that form monophyletic genetic clusters and are ecologically similar. Taxonomy ''Mant ...

'',

subgenus In biology, a subgenus ( subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the ge ...

Spinomantis ''Spinomantis'' is a frog genus in the Mantellidae, mantellid subfamily Mantellinae. This genus is restricted to Madagascar. At present it contains 13 species. They are Arboreal locomotion, arboreal or terrestrial frogs and occur in or along smal ...

'', by

Frank Glaw Frank Rainer Glaw (born 22 March 1966 in Düsseldorf) is a German Herpetology, herpetologist working at the Zoologische Staatssammlung München. Glaw studied biology in Cologne from 1987, where he completed his diploma. Thereafter, he attended ...

and

Miguel Vences Professor Miguel Vences (born 24 April 1969 in Cologne) is a German herpetologist and evolutionary biologist. Much of his research is focused on the reptiles and amphibians of Madagascar. Life The son of Galician philosopher Sergio Vences F ...

in 1994. The species is named ''massi'' to congratulate the daughter of Frank Glaw, Andrea Mass née Glaw, and her husband Robert Mass, on their marriage. Therefore, plural form ''massorum'' should have been used, but this is considered an unjustified emendation. The correct

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

is therefore ''massi''.

Description

Adult males measure in snout–vent length (SVL); the only known adult female measured . The head is wider than long. The tympanum is distinct. The fingers and toes bear enlarged, triangular disks. Males have a subgular

vocal sac The vocal sac is the flexible Biological membrane, membrane of skin possessed by most male frogs and toads. The purpose of the vocal sac is usually as an amplification of their mating or advertisement call. The presence or development of the voca ...

Habitat and ecology

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 primary forest near streams 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 ...

. It is an

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally (scansorial), but others are exclusively arboreal. The hab ...

species that breeds in streams. 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 ...

caused by subsistence agriculture, timber extraction, charcoal manufacture, the spread of invasive

eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...

, and expanding human settlements.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4677404 massi Endemic frogs of Madagascar Amphibians described in 1994 Taxa named by Frank Glaw Taxa named by Miguel Vences Taxonomy articles created by Polbot