Ptychadena mascareniensis
Silhouette: Dmitry Bogdanov (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week >90%
The Mascarene grass frog (Ptychadena mascareniensis), or Mascarene ridged frog, is a species of frog in the family Ptychadenidae. It is found in sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, and Mauritius. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical swamps, subtropical or tropical moist montane forest, dry savanna, moist savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, rivers, intermittent rivers, shrub-dominated wetlands, swamps, freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, sandy shores, arable land, pastureland, plantations, rural gardens, urban areas, heavily degraded former forest, water storage areas, ponds, aquaculture ponds, irrigated land, seasonally flooded agricultural land, and canals and ditches.
Phylogeography / History Ptychadena mascareniensis is the only African amphibian species thought to occur on Madagascar and the Mascarene islands. Madagascar was populated by Ptychadena frogs before the arrival of humans 2000 years ago. Wikipedia →
Recording0:06
Congo - Kinshasa · 2022
© Mahomed Desai · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ankarafantsika National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 2 | Ranomafana National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 3 | Mantadia National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antananarivo | 🇲🇬 Madagascar |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Mascarene Ridged Frog sighting in Ankarafantsika National Park on a given day, based on 15 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Mascarene Ridged Frog in Ankarafantsika National Park on a given day, against under 5% in November, the lowest month. That is one of Ankarafantsika National Park's driest months, with almost no rain against 560 mm in January. February and March have too few records to rate.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Mascarene Ridged Frog sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
Yes
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Mascarene Ridged Frog sightings, Ankarafantsika National Park has the highest daily chance: about 40%. Next come Ranomafana National Park (Madagascar, about 30%) and Mantadia National Park (Madagascar, about 20%).
Same order: Anura
The closest relatives of the Mascarene Ridged Frog that you can see in Ankarafantsika National Park (order Anura, Frogs and Toads) are Madagascar Bullfrog (about 40%) and Western Bright-eyed Frog (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Mascarene Ridged Frog is recorded against all the amphibians logged in Ankarafantsika National Park (15 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
