Bioacoustics of Cophyla noromalalae

Etymology. This species is dedicated to Noromalala R. Raminosoa, the Malagasy supervisor of the first author, to whom we are immensely grateful for her support over the past years. Natural history. The holotype was found during the day in a bamboo patch near the entrance office of Montagne d’Ambre National Park. The calling male ( paratype 3273/2012) was found on a bamboo stand at night. No further information is available on the natural history and reproduction of this species. Advertisement call. Recorded from paratype ZSM 3273/2012 (FGZC 4902), around the park entrance of MANP, on 10 December 2012 , at an air temperature of ca. 20˚C ( Fig. 15 ). The following call description refers to the calls of this single specimen. As with all other Cophyla and most cophylines, single tonal calls were repeated in long series (continued at least for several minutes but probably much longer in undisturbed specimens). Dominant frequency ranged from 2300–2500 Hz (N= 64). Temporal call parameters were as follows: call duration 662–821 ms (716±38 ms; N= 64); duration of inter-call intervals 874–1882 ms (1217±239 ms; N= 63).

Diagnosis and comparisons. Assigned to the genus Cophyla in the microhylid subfamily Cophylinae based on enlarged terminal discs on fingers and toes, absence of clavicle, posterior vomer undivided and not overlapping with neopalatines, absence of nuptial pads, and molecular phylogenetic relationships. Among other arboreal species of cophylines the species can be identified by a combination of the following character states: small to moderate body size (adult SVL 22–29 mm ; verified adult males 22–25 mm ); most specimens uniformly yellowish ventrally; discs of fingers and toes pinkish in life; third toe at least slightly but often distinctly shorter than fifth; posterior vomer without clearly recognizable vomerine teeth (rudiments are probably present); males with prepollical tubercule but lacking a finger-like prepollex as typical for Anodonthyla . Distinguished from C. maharipeo by distinctly shorter calls, and from C. phyllodactyla by a distinctly slower call repetition rate ( Table 2 ). Further distinguished from C . phyllodactyla by smaller body size (verified adult male SVL 24–25 mm vs . 27–29); from C . occultans by larger size (verified adult male SVL 22–25 mm vs . 16–21 mm ). Most similar by morphology and bioacoustics to C. berara which however has strong and concordant differences in mitochondrial and nuclear DNA ( Figs. 2–3 ). For the distinction from C. puellarum , see the respective diagnosis of that species below.