An unexpected Rhombophryne record at Tsingy de Bemaraha confirms the presence of cophyline frogs in western Madagascar

Abstract

Among the highly diverse amphibians of Madagascar, currently represented by 238 species (Glaw and Vences 2007), cophyline microhylid frogs are a little known clade in terms of biology and habitat requirements. They represent, after the mantellids, the most diverse frog radiation, occupying several ecological niches, with more than 45 identified species (Glaw and Vences 2007). Until recently cophylines were believed to have a distribution largely restricted to the eastern rainforests (Andreone et al. 2005). This assumption was challenged by the finding of a new Plethodontohyla at Parc National (PN) Tsingy de Bemaraha (Glaw et al. 2007), a karst area in western Madagascar. The new species (P. fonetana) is the only larger confirmed cophyline frog from a western site, although Stumpffia sp. aff. helenae is reported for Tsingy de Bemaraha (Glaw and Vences 2007), and another Stumpffia was signalled from PN d’Ankarafantsika (Ramanamanjato and Rabibisoa 2002).