Account
What the sources say about this taxon, as written.
diagnosis · 
Plazi
Diagnosis .—A member of the M. curtus clade and sister to a monophyletic group of all other species of the clade. See Table 4 for a list of diagnostic morphological characters. The combination of relatively small body size of up to 31 mm , slightly granular skin with (weakly expressed) dorsolateral ridges, small tympanum diameter of ca 9% of SVL in males, absence of small white spots on flanks, presence of a light frenal stripe in most specimens, and advertisement calls as a regular series of short pulsed notes distinguishes M. alutus from species of the other clades. Within the M. curtus clade, M. ambohimitombi , M. bourgati and M. curtus have larger body sizes, and M. madecassus and M. pauliani are high-elevation endemics with usually a shorter snout and absence of dorsolateral ridges ( Table 4 ). For detailed distinction from new species described herein, see the respective species accounts. A full list of molecular diagnostic sites in the 16S gene of M. alutus in pairwise comparisons to all other Brygoomantis species is provided as Supplementary appendix.
description · Plazi
Calls.— The advertisement call of M. alutus , recorded on 21 January 2003 , 17:30 h, near Antoetra, 20.5–21.0°C air temperature ( Vences et al. 2006 : CD 2, track 61, cut 1), consists of a short, regularly pulsed note, emitted in series at regular intervals ( Fig. 12 ). Notes exhibit distinct amplitude modulation, with amplitude continuously increasing from the beginning, reaching maximum call energy at the middle of the note, before continuously decreasing towards the note’s end. Numerical parameters of eight analysed calls are as follows: call duration (= note duration) 149–290 ms (234.3 ± 53.5 ms); 20–27 pulses per note (24.1 ± 2.7); pulse duration 5–8 ms (6.3 ± 1.0 ms); pulse repetition rate within notes 83.3–130.4 pulses/s (108.2 ± 17.3); dominant frequency 1040–1116 Hz (1081 ± 26 Hz); prevalent bandwidth 600–4800 Hz; call repetition rate (= note repetition rate) within regular series ca 110 calls/min. Calls recorded on 1 January 1994 , 18:20 h, at Manjakatompo, 18°C air temperature ( Vences et al. 2006 : CD 2, track 61, cut 2) generally agree in character with the calls described above. Calls of a series containing nine calls have the following parameters: call duration (= note duration) 254–310 ms (278.5 ± 16.8 ms); 21–27 pulses per note (23.7 ± 2.2); pulse duration 3–6 ms (4.9 ± 0.7 ms); pulse repetition rate within notes 66.7–120.0 pulses/s (83.2 ± 19.0); dominant frequency 1270–1378 Hz (1326 ± 45 Hz); prevalent bandwidth 800–5600 Hz; call repetition rate (= note repetition rate) within series ca 115 calls/min. Tadpoles .—The tadpoles of M. alutus were described by Blommers-Schl̂sser (1979) and Schmidt et al. (2009) .
biology_ecology · Plazi
Natural history.— Typically found in slow-flowing parts of streams or associated swamps in Madagascar’s highlands. Often at the edge of forest or in streams devoid of forest, with some gallery vegetation only. Males call from the edge or very shallow parts of water, from concealed positions during the day or from more open positions at night. See Vences et al. (2002) for observations from Ankaratra. This species is also abundant in parks of Antananarivo , e.g. in the Tsimbazaza garden (Glaw & Vences 2007 ).