Blommersia angolafa is a species of frogs in the family Mantellidae. This recently described species is endemic to eastern Madagascar. The specific epithet is derived from the term “angolafa” or “angolafo”, which is the Malagasy vernacular name used by the Betsimisaraka people for the Dypsis palm species (mostly for Dypsis lastelliana ), whose leaves and prophylls are the habitat for this frog.
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Jumping (saltation) can be distinguished from running, galloping, and other gaits where the entire body is temporarily airborne by the relatively l...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withBlommersia angolafa is a small frog, with a body size of 17–21 mm, enlarged tips on fingers and toes, and without any dark area in the tympanic and frenal region, present in the other Blommersia. B. angolafa has a rather uniform dorso-lateral colouration, shading from yellowish–light brownish to dark brown, with light-bluish spots on the flanks and light-bluish terminal parts of the fingers and toes. The species also appears to be chromatically sexually dimorphic. In fact, males differ from females in having a light colouration, while females are more brownish.
Blommersia angolafa is similar to B. grandisonae. Although both B. angolafa and B. grandisonae have enlarged finger tips, they are much more developed in B. angolafa.
Blommersia angolafa occurs at four forest blocks in eastern Madagascar: Masoala, Ambatovaky, Zahamena and Betampona and occupies rain forest with an elevation range between 90 m (Ankavanana River, Masoala Peninsula) and 508 m (Vohitsivalana, RNI de Betampona). It is found both in primary and secondary forest, due to the tolerance of some Dypsis palms to occur in secondary rain forest at Betampona. The observed elevational distribution at Betampona ranged from 332–548 m asl. Andreone et al. suggest that this species may also occur at other rain forest sites that fall within this elevational and latitudinal range for eastern Madagascar, such as Makira and Mananara Nord.
