Bioacoustics of Mantidactylus mahery

Identity and justification .—This lineage has been considered as confirmed candidate species M. sp. 14 by Vieites et al. (2009) and M. sp. Ca14 by Perl et al. (2014) . This is a relatively large-sized species of Brygoomantis fromwesternMadagascarwithamorphologysuperficially similar to M. ulcerosus which, however, is not its closest relative and concordantly differs in mitochondrial and nuclear genes and in advertisement call structure. Both species occur syntopically at least at one site (Makira). Although M. mahery sp. nov. mainly occurs in western Madagascar unlike the other species of the M. curtus clade which live in the central highlands, the phylogenomic data unambiguously support its inclusion in the group. Even more surprising, the phylogenomic tree places the species sister to M. pauliani , which is a montane endemic from the Ankaratra Massif that differs in numerous morphological characters. The status of M. mahery sp. nov. as a separate species is well supported by multiple lines of evidence.

Diagnosis .— Mantidactylus mahery sp. nov. is a member of the M. curtus clade as revealed by the phylogenomic analysis, and sister to the morphologically strongly different M. pauliani . While all other species in the M. curtus clade occur on the central plateau of Madagascar , M. mahery is distributed in western Madagascar , including some rather arid areas where it appears to be the only Brygoomantis present, and it is also present in one locality in the North West (western slope of Makira). See Table 4 for a list of diagnostic morphological characters. The combination of a large body size of up to 49 mm , slightly granular skin with (weakly expressed) dorsolateral ridges, absence of white spots on flanks and of white marking on snout tip, and short pulsed advertisement calls emitted in regular series distinguishes the new species from species of the other clades. In the North West it can occur syntopically with the similarly sized M. ulcerosus which however has a distinctly more tubercular dorsal skin, and more pulses per note in advertisement calls. Within the M. curtus clade, the new species differs by its larger tympanum diameter in males (11–13% of SVL) from all other species ( Table 4 ). Mantidactylus alutus , M. madecassus and M. pauliani furthermore are smaller and have a shorter snout ( Table 4 ). For detailed distinction from other 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.

Calls.— The advertisement call of M. mahery , recorded on 28 January 1994 at Isalo National Park, near Ranohira, 23.4°C air temperature ( Vences et al. 2006 : CD 2, track 76), consists of a short, pulsed note, emitted in regular series at fast succession ( Fig. 22 ). Pulse repetition rate is distinctly higher at the beginning of calls and significantly reduces after approximately one quarter of the call’s duration. Amplitude modulation is present, with highest call energy occurring at the beginning of the call and continuously decreasing towards its end. Numerical parameters of eight analysed calls are as follows: call duration (= note duration) 120– 144 ms (131.8 ± 8.7 ms); 21–26 pulses per note (24.1 ± 2.3); pulse duration 1–2 ms (1.6 ± 0.5); pulse repetition rate within notes 107.8–667.0 pulses/s (331.4 ± 205.3); dominant frequency 1004–1270 Hz (1151 ± 95 Hz); prevalent bandwidth 800–4500 Hz; call repetition rate (= note repetition rate) within regular series ca 211–218 calls/min. Tadpoles.— The tadpole of this species has not been described.