Introduction Malagasy poison frogs of the genus Mantella are known for their bright colouration and the presence of alkaloid skin toxins (Daly et al., 1996). Currently there are 16 described species in the genus, and at least one undescribed species has been identiied (Glaw and Vences 2007; Rabemananjara et al., 2007). Due to their attractive coloration and diurnal behaviour, Mantella are prominent representatives of the Malagasy herpetofauna, and they are also exported in large numbers for the pet trade (Rabemananjara et al., in press). Nevertheless, for many species, basic data on distribution and natural history were missing (Vences et al., 1999) and this has hindered the creation of appropriate conservation measures. This is particularly true for three closely related species, Mantella aurantiaca, M. crocea and M. milotympanum, to which we will here refer to as the Mantella aurantiaca complex. These taxa have been included in a Mantella aurantiaca group (Vences et al., 1999), but more recent molecular studies have shown that they should be included in the M. madagascariensis group which in addition contains M. madagascariensis and M. pulchra. Up until 1999, there was no precise locality information available for Mantella crocea and M. milotympanum, and only one locality, the Torotorofotsy marsh, had been identiied as containing sites with M. aurantiaca. Considering the announcement of Madagascar’s president Ravalomanana, at the Durban Parks Conference in 2003, to triple the surface of protected areas, it is now important to identify unprotected forest fragments that harbour signiicant populations of restricted range species which merit future protection. All three species in the M. aurantiaca complex are Herpetology Notes, volume 1: 39-48 (published online on 22 September 2008) Geographical distribution of three species of Malagasy poison frogs of high conservation priority: Mantella aurantiaca, M. crocea and M. milotympanum Parfait Bora 1 , Rainer Dolch 2 , Richard Jenkins 3,4 , Olga Jovanovic 4 , Falitiana C. E. Rabemananjara 1 , Jasmin Randrianirina 5 , Jeannot Rafanomezantsoa 1 , Liliane Raharivololoniaina 1 , Olga Ramilijaona 1 , Noromalala Raminosoa 1 , Roma Randrianavelona 3 , Achille Raselimanana 1 , Bertrand Razaimahatratra 1 , Tokihery Razaindraibe 1 , and Miguel Vences 4* 1 Université d’Antananarivo, Département de Biologie Animale, Antananarivo (101), Madagascar 2 Association Mitsinjo, Lot 104 A Gare, Andasibe (514), Madagascar 3 Madagasikara Voakajy, B.P. 5181 Antananarivo (101), Madagascar 4 School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB24 2TZ, United Kingdom 5 Parc Botanique et Zoologique de Tsimbazaza, B.P 4096, Antananarivo (101), Madagascar 6 Zoological Institute, Technical University of Braunschweig, Spielmannstr 8, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany * Corresponding author: E-mail: m.vences@tu-bs.de Abstract. The genus Mantella comprises 16 described species of Malagasy poison frogs, several of which are threatened. Despite their importance as lagship species for conservation, remarkably little was known until recently about their geographical distribution. We here provide a revision of the distribution of a complex of three closely related Mantella species from central eastern Madagascar: Mantella aurantiaca (Critically Endangered) M. crocea (Endangered) and M. milotympanum (Critically Endangered). These taxa were thus far known from only a very limited number of sites. Based on own surveys, we could identify 21 new sites to complement the 13 sites known for these frogs. We also provide corrected geographical coordinates for some published sites. Altogether 16 localities are known for M. aurantiaca, nine for M. crocea, ive for M. cf milotympanum and four for M. milotympanum. One site of M. crocea is in a Special Reserve (Ambohitantely), a second possibly in the Zahamena National Park, one site of M. aurantiaca (Torotorofotsy) is protected as Ramsar site, and a second site of M. aurantiaca is at the boundary of, and possibly inside, Mantadia National Park, but all other localities do not receive legal protection. All newly recorded sites are along the western edge of the eastern forest band, except Ambohitantely which is a relict forest in central Madagascar. Among the sites reported for M. aurantiaca, only one (Ambakoana) is situated on the western bank of the Mangoro River, indicating that this river is no insurmountable barrier for this species, at least in its upper course. Keywords: Mantella, Anura, Mantellidae, geographical distribution, Madagascar