Account
What the sources say about this taxon, as written.
description · 
Plazi
Calls.— The advertisement call of M. ulcerosus , recorded on 10 February 1992 , 19:00 h, at Nosy Be ( Vences et al. 2006 : CD 2, track 74, cut 1), consists of a pulsed note ( Fig. 25 ), emitted in series at regular intervals and very fast succession (short inter-call intervals). Notes exhibit some complexity in pulse structure, with the initial pulse of each note being distinctly longer in duration and containing highest call energy compared to subsequent pulses. This initial pulse seems to contain some substructure and amplitude modulation and sounds more distorted than subsequent pulses. Relative amplitude of pulses slightly decreases towards the end of the note. Within the recorded short call series of four calls, these become successively shorter from the beginning to the end of the series. Numerical parameters of four analysed calls were as follows: call duration (= note duration) 453– 779 ms (593.0 ± 143.2 ms); 45–65 pulses per note (54.8 ± 9.0); pulse duration 1–3 ms (2.3 ± 0.6 ms); pulse duration of initial pulses 27–37 ms (31.8 ± 4.1 ms); pulse repetition rate within notes (excluding initial pulse) 83.9–104.5 pulses/s (92.4 ± 7.6); dominant frequency 3101–3605 Hz (3308 ± 196 Hz); prevalent bandwidth 880–5500 Hz; call repetition rate (= note repetition rate) within regular call series ca 68 calls/min. Calls recorded from a chorus on 30 June 2009 from a site at km 27 of the road from Antsohihy to Mandritsara, 24°C air temperature, generally agreed in character with calls described from Nosy Be. They also exhibit the complex pulse structure described above, with initial pulses being very narrowly spaced and sometimes fused. Calls were emitted in series, containing 4–9 calls. The recording was difficult to analyse due to many overlapping calls, but the following call parameters could be measured (10 calls analysed): call duration (= note duration) 355– 565 ms (447.4 ± 63.0 ms); pulse duration 1–4 ms (1.8 ± 0.9 ms); pulse repetition rate within notes varied from ca 50–220 pulses/s; dominant frequency 2798–2885 Hz (2847 ± 37 Hz); prevalent bandwidth 1000–3800 Hz; call repetition rate (= note repetition rate) within regular call series ca 70–88 calls/min. Calls recorded on 24 February 2001 atAnkarafantsika, 28°C air temperature, also agreed with the calls described above, with very narrowly spaced initial pulses, partly fused. Calls were emitted in series containing 3–5 calls. Recordings were of poor quality, containing overlapping calls and background noise. However, the following parameters could be measured (8 calls analysed): call duration (= note duration) 551–1047 ms (667.3 ± 160.0 ms); pulse repetition rate within notes varied from ca 50–400 pulses/s (maximum values from initial pulses); prevalent bandwidth 900–3400 Hz; call repetition rate (= note repetition rate) within regular call series ca 66–87 calls/min. Distress calls of a female from Nosy Be were described by Glaw and Vences (1992b) . Tadpoles.— Tadpoles assignable to this species (from the type locality Nosy Be) were briefly mentioned and their tooth formula described by Glaw & Vences (1994) . The tadpole description by (Blommers-Schl̂sser 1979) was based on east coast specimens not identified by genetics that almost certainly belong to other species of Brygoomantis .
diagnosis · Plazi
Diagnosis .—A member of the M. ulcerosus clade as revealed by the phylogenomic analysis, and sister to the morphologically very similar M. bellyi . See Table 4 for a list of diagnostic morphological characters. The combination of a large body size of up to 45 mm , strongly tubercular dorsal skin usually without welldefined dorsolateral ridges, large tympanum size in males (11–14% of SVL), absence of white spots on flanks and of white marking on snout tip, and pulsed advertisement calls emitted in regular series distinguishes M. ulcerosus from species of the other clades. Some species in the M. fergusoni clade can be morphologically similar, but they occur in eastern Madagascar (vs Sambirano and North West regions), and have highly different advertisement calls ( Table 4 ). Within the M. ulcerosus clade, the new species differs by its large body size and tubercular dorsal skin from M. schulzi , and by its advertisement call emitted in regular call series from M. bellyi (single calls). M. ulcerosus can occur sympatrically with M. mahery in the North West of Madagascar , but that species differs by a smoother skin and fewer pulses per note in advertisement calls. 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. ulcerosus in pairwise comparisons to all other Brygoomantis species is provided as Supplementary appendix.
biology_ecology · Plazi
Natural history .—Common along small streams with shallow water and associated swamps, where males emit their advertisement calls at night from the ground next to the water or sitting in shallow water. Males often begin calling in the late afternoon. Found in primary rainforest or transitional/dry forest and also in degraded areas and secondary forest, as long as some vegetation cover is present around the streams. Previous descriptions of eggs and embryos (Blommers-Schl̂sser 1979) refer to other species of Brygoomantis . Figure 24n shows a clutch of eggs probably assignable to this species.