About Heterixalus alboguttatus (Boulenger, 1882)
Heterixalus alboguttatus, commonly called the Starry Night Reed Frog, is a species of reed frog in the family Hyperoliidae that is endemic to Madagascar. Females of this species have a characteristic dorsal pattern of yellow spots, while males can be almost uniformly solid white. This species forms a species complex with Heterixalus boettgeri and Heterixalus madagascariensis, and is known to hybridize with H. boettgeri. H. alboguttatus typically occurs in open habitats, including savannahs, degraded forest, swamps, grasslands, and ricefields. Because these habitats are expanding across Madagascar due to human activity, H. alboguttatus is not considered a threatened species. Females reach a snout-vent length of approximately 30 to 33 millimeters. H. alboguttatus breeds in both temporary and permanent water bodies, including those located in the ricefields it often inhabits. Females lay around 500 black and white eggs per clutch, and during the breeding period, individuals often perch on sunlit leaves of Pandanus plants and other plant species.
