Mini scule

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This article is about the frog. For other uses, see Minuscule (disambiguation).

Mini scule
frog with bronze upperparts, brown underparts, and red eye
A side view of Mini scule
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Microhylidae
Subfamily: Cophylinae
Genus: Mini
Species:
M. scule
Binomial name
Mini scule
Scherz et al., 2019[1]
Known range of Mini scule (yellow pentagon, bottom right)
Synonyms[2]

Cophyla scule (Dubois et al., 2021)

Mini scule is a

upperparts with brown flecking, a dark brown side of the head, and a red iris. It is known only from the Sainte Luce Reserve, where it inhabits areas with deep leaf litter near semi-permanent water bodies. Specimens of frogs from Mandena, the Vohimena mountains, the southern Anosy Mountains, and Tsitongambarika may also be of this species. Like other species in the genus Mini
, it received media attention when first described due to the wordplay in its scientific name.

Taxonomy and systematics

Mini scule was described in 2019 by

herpetologist Mark Scherz and his colleagues based on an adult specimen (presumed to be male) collected in Sainte Luce Reserve in Anosy, Madagascar, in 2005.[1] The name Mini scule is a pun on the word miniscule[1] (a misspelling or variant spelling of minuscule),[3] alluding to the fact that the species is among the smallest known species of frog. The specific name scule is regarded as an invariable noun.[1] Along with Mini mum and Mini ature, the other two species in its genus, the species received publicity when it was first described due to its humorous scientific name.[4][5]

The species is part of

monophyletic, both Plethodontohyla and Mini should be lumped with Cophyla. This would make the present species's name Cophyla scule.[6]

The following cladograms of the subfamily Cophylinae show the differing phylogenies found by the 2019 and 2021 studies:[1][6]

Cladogram based on Scherz et al., 2019[1]
Cophylinae
Cladogram based on Dubois et al., 2021[6]
Cophylinae


Description

brown and black frog top view
Top view of Mini scule
upside down frog with pale brown underside
Bottom view of Mini scule

Mini scule is one of the smallest known species of frog,

upperparts have a distinct color border along the side of the body between the rib cage and hip. The side of the head is dark brown but becomes more flecked with cream toward the back. The upperparts are cream with brown flecks. The iris is red. The groin can have dark markings in some specimens, along with blacker flanks and a burnt umber crossband on the thighs and lower leg.[1]

M. scule has a rectangular body, with the head being wider than it is long and narrower than the body. The snout is rounded from the top and side, with non-protuberant nostrils that are equidistant between the eyes and snout. The

maxillary and premaxillary teeth are present, but it lacks vomerine teeth.[1]

Within its genus, it can be distinguished from Mini mum by the presence of the maxillary and premaxillary teeth, as well as a less distinct border between the upperparts and underparts along the side, and from Mini ature by its smaller size and proportionally smaller nasals and neurocranium. It is also similar to some species in Stumpffia but can be distinguished from them by its poorly ossified carpals, along with the loss or fusion of the second carpal.[1]

The species's calls are different from those of M. mum but similar to those of many Stumpffia species. They most resemble those of Stumpffia gimmeli, S. larinki, and S. tridactyla. However, its dominant frequency is higher than that of S. gimmeli and S. larinki, while it is lower than that of S. tridactyla.[1]

Distribution and habitat

Forest with dappled sunlight
Mini scule habitat

Mini scule has an extremely limited range, being known only from areas in the Sainte Luce Reserve. Reports of Stumpffia frogs from Mandena, the

leaf litter near semi-permanent water bodies like forest streams.[1]

Conservation

Mini scule is currently known only from the Sainte Luce Reserve and may be

critically endangered due to its extremely small range and degradation in the quality of the forest it inhabits.[1]

References

  1. ^
    PMID 30917162
    .
  2. doi:10.5531/db.vz.0001
    . Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  3. ^ "miniscule". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. Retrieved 25 October 2022. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  4. Smithsonian Magazine
    . Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  5. ^ "Meet Mini mum, Mini ature, Mini scule: Tiny new frogs from Madagascar". Mongabay Environmental News. 28 March 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  6. ^
    ISSN 2703-3090
    .
  7. ^ Scherz, Mark D. (28 March 2019). "Meet the mini frogs of Madagascar — the new species we've discovered". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2022.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mini_scule&oldid=1219826696"