Midwife toads present one of the simplest calls in anurans, with the whole energy concentrated in a single band without frequency modulation. The tuning curves of the Iberian midwife toads Alytes cisternasii show the typical bimodal pattern in anurans, with two best excitatory frequencies at 0.412 kHz (corresponding to the amphibian papilla) and at 1.358 kHz (corresponding to the basilar papilla and matching the male call frequency). In this study, the hypothesis that complex calls arose in anurans because they were inherently more attractive to females, since they provided greater acoustic stimulation, was tested. However, our results indicate that splitting the call energy to stimulate both inner ear organs simultaneously, the male call is not more attractive to female midwife toads, but sometimes renders it unattractive. The biological role of the amphibian papilla is discussed in ecological and evolutionary terms.

During a zoological survey in north-west Madagascar (Sahamalaza Peninsula) we documented aspects of the natural history of Boophis occidentalis (formerly a subspecies of B. albilabris and here raised to species level). Individual age assessed by skeletochronology ranged from 4 to 11 years. Breeding behaviour was observed at a seasonal stream after heavy rainfalls: five choruses of eight to 90 males aggregated in shallow brook sections. The males emitted low frequency calls and engaged in scramble battles. Only two females were found. A couple laid a large number of eggs, attached as a single layer on submerged stones. Tadpoles reared from these eggs had the typical morphology of brook-breeding Boophis species with a 1:5+5/3 keratodont formula and a relatively flattened body. Adult males had an anteroventrally oriented cloaca, a morphological trait shared with B. albilabris. Advertisement calls were similar in general structure to those of B. albilabris recorded at Anjanaharibe-Sud. They were unharmonious and consisted of pulsed notes emitted at irregular intervals. Much lower pulse rates in B. albilabris (30–38 pulses/s) than in B. occidentalis (90–109 pulses/s) support the specific distinctness of these taxa. The combination of characters related to reproductive biology in B. occidentalis and B. albilabris is unique in Boophis. The acontinuous breeding behaviour and large number of eggs per clutch are traits found in the pond-breeding species of the B. tephraeomystax group, while larval morphology and habitat are characteristic of brook-breeding species. Available morphological and molecular data place B. albilabris and B. occidentalis into the brook-breeding Boophis radiation. The acontinuous timing of reproduction and large egg number may be secondary adaptations that allowed the species to colonize arid regions of western Madagascar.