A unique case of mating behaviour in a Malagasy tree frog, Gephyromantis liber (Peracca, 1893), with observations on the larval development (Amphibia, Ranidae)

The mating act in Gephyromantis liber and in other species of this genus differs from all other mating behaviour patterns known in Anura. The male settles with the ventral side of his thighs on the shoulders of the female, and oviposition starts without delay. The assumption is made that the femoral glands of the male play a rôle in the short mating contact. G. liber is a small arboreal frog, which is widely distributed in the Malagasy central Highlands. During the rainy season the eggs are deposited in a gelatinous mass on leaves overhanging shady small shallow puddles, in which the hatching larvae drop. The embryo does not develop external gills, and hatches by the time the spiracle and the horny beak are present. The tooth formula of the full grown larvae is in general 1/3 + 3//3.