''Spinomantis tavaratra'' 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 ...
s 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 ...
.
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]
Taxonomy
This species was described in the genus ''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 Cramer, Rabibisoa, and Raxworthy in 2008.
Description
Adult males measure in snout–vent length (SVL); females measure . The species is also characterised by simple dermal spines of less than length on the posterior margin of the tarsus.
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 ...
, in 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 ...
but also on the Sorata massif. 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.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4678693
tavaratra
Endemic frogs of Madagascar
Amphibians described in 2008