''Spinomantis phantasticus'' 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 east-central and northeastern

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 ...

Description

''Spinomantis phantasticus'' males measure in snout–vent length. It is a very conspicuous species, presenting a distinct green-brown

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage The fus ...

patterning and large spines all over the body. The ventral side as well as the femoral glands are greenish. The male advertisement call is a sequence of 4 or 5 "metallic" double-click notes.

Habitat and conservation

''Scpinomantis brunae'' occur along brooks in pristine forests 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 probably breeds in streams, as other species in the genus. Males call from about 2–4 m above the ground in the vegetation along streams. This species is locally abundant. However,

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, spread of invasive eucalyptus, livestock grazing, and expanding human settlements are threats to its habitat. It occurs in the Masoala and

Marojejy National Park Marojejy National Park () is a national park in the Sava region of northeastern Madagascar. It covers and is centered on the Marojejy Massif, a mountain chain that rises to an elevation of . Access to the area around the massif was restricted t ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q28056953 phantasticus Endemic frogs of Madagascar Amphibians described in 1997 Taxa named by Frank Glaw Taxa named by Miguel Vences Taxonomy articles created by Polbot