Boophis ankaratra Andreone 1993

A green, rather small treefrog; males 24-28 mm SVL, females unknown. Back light green, sometimes with yellowish reticulations and often with dark spots. Two yellowish stripes from snout through eye to the neck. Belly whitish. Iris silvery golden with an orange-brown area around the pupil. Iris periphery is blue. Skin on the back smooth. White lateral fringes along lower arm and tarsus. Nostrils somewhat closer to tip of snout than to the eye. Tympanum/eye ratio is 0.46-0.69. Tibiotarsal articulation reaches at maximum the nostrils. Webbing of the hand: rudimentary between 1 and 2i, 2e(1), 3i(2), 3e(1), 4(0.5-1); webbing of the foot 1(0), 2i(1), 2e(0), 3i(1), 3e(0), 4i/e(1), 5(0). Males with a nuptial pad on the first finger (not clearly visible) and single, largely extensible, subgular vocal sac.Similar species: The other known species of the Boophis luteus-group are larger and differ by colouration in life. In preservative, specimens with dark pigment on the back can resemble B. sibilans. In males of the rappiodes-group, the tibiotarsal articulation reaches beyond tip of snout when the hind limb is brought forward.Taken with permission from Glaw and Vences (2007).

Ambohitantely, Antoetra (Antratrabe, Soamazaka, Vohisokina), Col des Tapias, Farihimazava, Imaitso forest, Itremo, Ivohibe, Mandraka, Manjakatompo. It occurs between 1,200-1,800m asl in high-elevation rainforest. It also inhabits degraded areas and open habitats (Nussbaum et al. 2008).

Calling males were found mainly after sunset along streams in primary forest, sitting 1-2 m high in the vegetation. Single males in the Andringitra mountains started calling as early as 16:00 in the afternoon. Call (from the terra typica): A series of regularly repeated unharmonious croaky notes that can last at least about 1 minute. Note duration is 140-150 ms, duration of intervals between notes is 240-270 ms. Note repetition rate is 2.5/s. The notes are pulsed; about 20 pulses per note are recognizable on the oscillogram. Frequency ranges from 2.2 to 3.5 kHz. Calls from Andringitra are very similar (note repetition rate 2.5/s, frequency 2.2-3 kHz). Eggs and tadpoles (from the terra typica): Tadpoles were found in a larger fast-flowing brook near the place where the males were calling. It is very probable that they belong to Boophis ankaratra. Total length of two tadpoles in stage 27 was 32-33 mm, body length was 12 mm. Mouth very large, tooth formula 4/4+4//3. The belly was silvery, the tail was mottled with dark. We reared one tadpole to a froglet, which was light green with some dark spots on the back after metamorphosis. It metamorphosed in January and measured 13 mm. Breeding takes place in fast moving streams (Nussbaum et al. 2008).

Least Concern: wide distribution and tolerance of habitat modification. It occurs in Parc National d'Andringitra and the Réserve Spéciale d’Ambohitantely (Nussbaum et al. 2008).

Boophis ankaratra is a species of frog in the family Mantellidae. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, rivers, pastureland, rural gardens, and heavily degraded former forest. It is threatened by habitat loss.