M. pulchra

Breeding Mantella pulchra

Barry Bevin

Mantella pulchra (Parker, 1925) is aptly known as the Beautiful Mantella, and with its aposematic colouration it truly is!

Like all of the Mantellas, M. pulchra is from Madagascar. Described as standing only ankle-high alongside the hulking mass of Africa, Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world. It is separated from the African mainland by the 400km wide Mozambique Channel. It stretches 1580km from north to south and reaches 571km at its widest point, the land mass is well over twice that of the UK. The country has a number of islands including the largest Nosy Be. All of Madagascar, except the southern tip, lies within the tropics and experiences several types of climatic conditions. Generally the wet season in Madagascar lasts from October to April and January to March is the 'cyclone' season. Madagascar has an abundance of flora and fauna, as well as supporting a diverse array of endemic wildlife.

Distribution

From the description in the book 'A Field Guide To The Amphibians and Reptiles Of Madagascar' my frogs would have come from an area near Andasibe, home to the famous Perinet Reserve on the eastern coast.

Description

M. pulchra is sometimes compared to both M. madagascariensis and M. baroni. From the top of the snout to the middle of the back there is a very bronze lustre, which fades to brown across the back and onto the sides; on the flanks over both the front and back legs a bright green blotch appears and continues down the leg tube, fading into light brown to the toes. The back legs also mask a vibrant, bright orange streak hidden on the inner sides and only seen when the animal extends or makes a sudden darting movement, below these markings and down to the toes there are light and dark brown markings. The rostral stripe above the iris looks cream against the contrasting bronze. This array of colours is fully contrasted by the black underbelly with is splattered with light blue patches. Similar species are M. madagascariensis, M. haraldmeieri, M. bernhardi and M. "loppei".

Calling

In the wild it is recorded that they call during the day, but in captivity I have heard and seen them calling at night. Their clicking sound has been measured as a series of short notes.

Mantella pulchra breeding records May 2001

I have kept Mantellas for about six years with limited success. I first reared two M. laevigata and then a clutch of M. aurantiaca, but only a few survived to adulthood. I prefer a natural set up with plants, cork bark and I only use rain water and I never disturb my frogs unless I suspect egg laying has taken place or to make any necessary improvements to the set up.

About a year ago I obtained five Mantella pulchra and realised that if I could get the conditions right, there would be a good chance of the frogs breeding. At the beginning of May 2001 a single male began calling, perhaps spurred on by other calling Mantella groups in neighbouring tanks. As soon as this happened I misted the tank day and night and during the next few weeks I experienced that wonderful feeling of spotting a developing egg mass.

Eggs and developing tadpoles

May 30th/June

I discovered a clutch of no more than a dozen white eggs that had been laid on some cork bark soaked by the regular misting. This cork bark sat just above the water line and would allow the emerging tadpoles to spill directly into the water. Having monitored their progress closely, the tadpoles were developing fast, so I put them into a separate holding tank filled with rainwater. The tank had a coral sand bottom, water plants and a piece of bogwood that would eventually allow the newly metamorphosed frogs to exit from the water.

After 5 days they simultaneously broke free from the spawn.

June 12th I spotted a new clutch which I again checked on 26th June. There was some change to their shape but no obvious movement. I also noticed two more gravid females. It was difficult to see the eggs, which were again deposited on cork bark resting above the waterline. Six tadpoles were later found, one of which was dead.

June 22nd Interestingly, I saw the tadpoles congregating together at night without any sign of aggression.

26th June The hottest day of the year and I turned the heat source off. All of the tadpoles were developing well.

July 8th Some tadpoles are developing back legs and most are two centimetres in length. None were showing signs of aggression towards each other. I prepared a small tank for metamorphosis to take place.

July 11th Male M. pulchra calling all afternoon and well into the evening. Tadpoles developing at different rates, and on some the back legs are clearly visible.

July 21st First Mantella breaks the surface and climbs out onto bogwood. Placed the developing Mantella (its tail not yet fully absorbed) into a tub of springtails.

July 26th A second Mantella emerges from the water, six more young tadpoles found in main tank, another one dead.

July 28th Tadpoles 3/4/5 & 6 emerge; sadly one well developed tadpole dead, possibly drowned. Collected a single M. pulchra from Terry, BDG.

July 29th Two more Mantellas moved into new development tank.

August 2nd Three frogs added to development tank, making five in total.

August 5th The legs are lighter than the body and already have the appearance of M. pulchra. Two more frogs are added to the development tank making seven in all.

August 12th Another frog has metamorphosed and emerged. Put in with the springtails, looking very healthy. Checked on the development tank all frogs moving and growing well. Feeding small brown pinhead crickets, I noticed a few of the pinhead crickets are too big to swallow and are spat out. Adult colouring is very evident.

August 15th and 16th Three more frogs are added to the group, making a total of 12. In the rearing tank there are still six more tadpoles from the last clutch. Calling from the adult has diminished and as a result I do not expect to find any more eggs. Sadly, although the frogs got past the tadpole stage I did not manage to rear any frogs into adulthood.

Conclusion

Having referred to various notes on Mantella reproduction, I wanted to get a more accurate picture of the time from egg laying, fertilisation and embryo development. Based on my experiences, I would guess the larvae were about 9-10 days old, when I discovered the first spawning site.

The first white embryonic movement was observed on the 30th May. The first tadpole broke free from the egg mass after four days, and 60 days later the first tadpole emerged. During the next 24 days a further 10 tadpoles emerged, making a total of 11. The egg mass consisted of at least twelve white eggs, tadpoles hatched after 9/12 days and complete metamorphosis occurred after 60-84 days.

Of the original six tadpoles found on 12th June, four have metamorphosed, 1st after 79 days, the 2nd after 83 days, the 3rd after 88 days and the 4th after 102 days.