AmphibiaWeb - Platypelis cowanii
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(Translations may not be accurate.)

Platypelis cowanii Boulenger, 1882
Betsileo Giant Treefrog
family: Microhylidae
subfamily: Cophylinae
genus: Platypelis

  hear Fonozoo call

Conservation Status (definitions)
IUCN Red List Status Account Data Deficient (DD)
CITES No CITES Listing
National Status None
Regional Status None
Access Conservation Needs Assessment Report .

   

 

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

Description
A largely unknown species. Only the female holotype is reliably known (30 mm SVL). In preservative brown with irregular dark markings. Skin smooth. Tympanum distinct, 3/5 of eye diameter. Tibiotarsal articulation reaches the tympanum. Toe 3 longer than toe 5. Specimens from Voloina may belong to this species but may also be an undescribed species.

Similar species: Other Platypelis (Glaw and Vences 2007).

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Madagascar

 

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.
Type locality is East Betsileo. Specimens from Voloina have been tentatively assigned to this species (Glaw and Vences 2007). Because of this uncertainty, no range map can be prepared for this species (Nussbaum and Raxworthy 2008).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
Habits: Largely unknown. At Voloina, calling males at night on trees in rainforest, up to 3m high (Glaw and Vences 2007). It is presumably an arboreal rainforest species that breeds in tree holes and bamboo (Nussbaum and Raxworthy 2008).

Trends and Threats
Listed as data deficient because of continuing doubts as to its taxonomic status as well as absence of information on its extent of occurrence, status and ecological requirements. There are no known threats or conservation actions (Nussbaum and Raxworthy 2008).

Comments
Taken with permission from Glaw and Vences (2007) and Nussbaum and Raxworthy (2008).

References

Glaw, F., and Vences, M. (2007). Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar. Third Edition. Vences and Glaw Verlag, Köln.

Nussbaum, R. and Raxworthy, C. (2008). Platypelis cowanii. In: IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 22 April 2009.



Originally submitted by: Miguel Vences and Frank Glaw (first posted 2003-02-25)
Edited by: Catherine Aguilar (2010-07-18)

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2010 Platypelis cowanii: Betsileo Giant Treefrog <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/2337> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Mar 28, 2024.



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Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 28 Mar 2024.

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