Anilany helenae (Vallan 2000)

M 14 mm, F 15 mm. Tympanum about 1/2 of eye diameter. Tibiotarsal articulation reaches posterior edge of eye. Fingertips, especially on finger 3, distinctly enlarged. Finger 1 extremely reduced, but four fingers and five toes are clearly recognizable. Skin on the back smooth or slightly granular. Back grey with two black spots in the inguinal region and sometimes with a light mid-dorsal line (Glaw and Vences 2007).Taken with permission from Glaw and Vences (2007).

Known only from Ambohitantely (Glaw and Vences 2007) at 1500 m asl (Dallan and Raxworthy 2008), in fragmented forest (Glaw and Vences 2007).

Habits: Active during the day in the leaf litter. Calling specimens were found on the ground, but similar calls were also heard from tree ferns, at heights of about 3 m above the ground (Glaw and Vences 2007). Calls: Regular series of chirping notes of high frequency (Glaw and Vences 2007).

It occurs only in the Reserve Speciale d'Ambohitantely, which has little protection. This species has a tiny area of occupancy (probably less than 10 km2), with all individuals in a single sub-population. The forest is disappearing very rapidly at its only known locality due to the impacts of fire, illegal woodcutting by local people, and overgrazing by livestock. No other suitable habitat is nearby, implying that this species will go extinct unless conservation measures are put in place very soon (Dallan and Raxworthy 2008).