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| "Painted Mantella" (2005)
by C P Brest van Kempen
original acrylic on illustration board
9" x 7"
Retail - $1,500
SOLD |
Although unrelated to the South American dart frogs, the mantellas
(Mantella spp.) of Madagascar are extremely similar to that better known
group. Tiny ground dwellers, they feed mostly on ants and termites. Like the
dart frogs, mantellas secrete complex alkaloids from their often brilliantly
colored skin.
The two groups even share a peculiar erect posture. The
Painted Mantella (M. madagascariensis) is one of the most beautiful of the
lot. It frequents the edges of small streams in forests throughout the
eastern part of the island. Reflected in the stream is a ruffed lemur
(Varecia variegata).