Mantidactylus fergusoni, Scherz & Crottini & Hutter & Hildenbrand & Andreone & Fulgence & Köhler & Ndriantsoa & Ohler & Preick & Rakotoarison & Rancilhac & Raselimanana & Riemann & Rödel & Rosa & Streicher & Vieites & Köhler & Hofreiter & Glaw & Vences, 2022

Scherz, Mark D., Crottini, Angelica, Hutter, Carl R., Hildenbrand, Andrea, Andreone, Franco, Fulgence, Thio Rosin, Köhler, Gunther, Ndriantsoa, Serge Herilala, Ohler, Annemarie, Preick, Michaela, Rakotoarison, Andolalao, Rancilhac, Loïs, Raselimanana, Achille P., Riemann, Jana C., Rödel, Mark-Oliver, Rosa, Gonçalo M., Streicher, Jeffrey W., Vieites, David R., Köhler, Jörn, Hofreiter, Michael, Glaw, Frank & Vences, Miguel, 2022, An inordinate fondness for inconspicuous brown frogs: integration of phylogenomics, archival DNA analysis, morphology, and bioacoustics yields 24 new taxa in the subgenus Brygoomantis (genus Mantidactylus) from Madagascar, Megataxa 7 (2), pp. 113-311 : 237

Mantidactylus fergusoni clade

This clade contains a series of medium-sized species (27.8–42.2 mm adult SVL) that have usually been thought to be related to or similar to M. betsileanus in previous studies (e.g. Glaw & Vences 2007; Vieites et al. 2009). Our phylogenomic tree, however, places them in a clade sister to the M. ulcerosus clade, which agrees with some of their morphological features, such as a stouter body and a less distinctly expressed or absent white dot on the tip of the snout in many specimens. According to our classification, this clade contains four new species, named after the holotypes depicted in Fig. 48 , and we name the clade after the alphabetically first of the new species, M. fergusoni sp. nov., described in the following.

Figures

FIGURE 48. Preserved holotype specimens of newly named species in the Mantidactylus fergusoni clade. Scale bars equal 5 mm.