Heterixalus madagascariensis (Duméril & Bibron, 1841)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Mahambo, MADAGASCAR Scanned Slide from 2004
Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Heterixalus madagascariensis (commonly referred to as the blue-back reed frog, or occasionally the powder-blue reed frog) is a species of frog in the family Hyperoliidae endemic to Madagascar.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, moist savanna, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, swamps, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, sandy shores, arable land, urban areas, heavily degraded former forests, ponds, irrigated land, and seasonally flooded agricultural land.
It is a popular choice of amphibian in the pet trade because of its beautiful colors and ease of care in a proper setup.
Wikipedia contributors, Heterixalus madagascariensis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T16:20:50.758268+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Heterixalus madagascariensis (Duméril & Bibron, 1841)
- Name authority
- (Duméril & Bibron, 1841)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Amphibia
- Order
- Anura
- Family
- Hyperoliidae
- Genus
- Heterixalus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAmphibia
- orderAnura
- familyHyperoliidae Laurent, 1943
- subfamilyHyperoliinae Laurent, 1943
- genusHeterixalus Laurent, 1944
- speciesHeterixalus madagascariensis (Duméril & Bibron, 1841)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Heterixalus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Heterixalus andrakata Glaw & Vences, 1991 | HyperoliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Heterixalus carbonei Vences, Glaw, Jesu & Schimmenti, 2000 | HyperoliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Heterixalus luteostriatus (Andersson, 1910) | HyperoliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Heterixalus rutenbergi (Boettger, 1881) | HyperoliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Heterixalus tricolor (Boettger, 1881) | HyperoliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Heterixalus variabilis (Ahl, 1930) | HyperoliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Heterixalus alboguttatus (Boulenger, 1882) | HyperoliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Heterixalus betsileo (Grandidier, 1872) | HyperoliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Heterixalus boettgeri (Mocquard, 1902) | HyperoliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Heterixalus punctatus Glaw & Vences, 1994 | HyperoliidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Hyperolius arnoulti Guibé, 1975 Guibé, 1975 | synonym |
| Rappia antanosi (Grandidier, 1872) (Grandidier, 1872) | synonym |
| Megalixalus madagascariensis madagascariensis (Duméril & Bibron, 1841) (Duméril & Bibron, 1841) | synonym |
| Eucnemis madagascariensis Duméril & Bibron, 1841 Duméril & Bibron, 1841 | synonym |
| Eucnemis antanosi Grandidier, 1872 Grandidier, 1872 | synonym |
| Hyperolius madagascariensis (Duméril & Bibron, 1841) (Duméril & Bibron, 1841) | synonym |
| Megalixalus madagascariensis (Duméril & Bibron, 1841) (Duméril & Bibron, 1841) | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=663072 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3L7NN. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.