Andolalao Rakotoarison (born 1982 in Mahajanga) is a Malagasy herpetologist.
Andolalao Rakotoarison | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1982 (age 41–42) |
| Nationality | Malagasy |
| Alma mater | Technical University of Braunschweig |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Herpetology |
| Thesis | Integrative systematics of the narrow-mouthed frogs of Madagascar (Amphibia: Microhylidae: Cophylinae) (2017) |
| Doctoral advisor | Miguel Vences |
Life and research
Rakotoarison conducted her Master's thesis at the University of Antananarivo in 2011.[1] She then conducted her PhD at the Technical University of Braunschweig on the systematics of the frogs of the Madagascar-endemic narrow-mouthed frog subfamily Cophylinae,[2] under the supervision of Professor Miguel Vences. As of mid-2020, she has co-authored the description of 52 frog species and two reptiles (one gecko and one chameleon).[3] In particular, Rakotoarison has contributed to knowledge of Madagascar's smallest frogs. In 2017, she led a study published as a monograph with sixteen other coauthors, describing 26 new species of the genus Stumpffia, including several frogs that number among the smallest in the world,[4][5][6] and in 2020, she was also involved in the description of five more miniaturised frogs, including the new genus Mini and its three diminutive species.[7][8][9]
After completing her PhD thesis in 2017, Rakotoarison was appointed as a lecturer at Soavinandriana in Itasy, Madagascar, an affiliate of the University of Antananrivo.[1] In 2017 she also became co-chair of the IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group for Madagascar,[10][1] a position she still holds today.[10] Currently, Rakotoarison is the Academic Director for the 'Madagascar: Biodiversity and Natural Resource Management' study abroad programme of the SIT Graduate Institute.[1]
Matronyms
In 2019, the frog species Platypelis ando was named in honour of Rakotoarison[11] in recognition of her contributions to research on the amphibians of Madagascar.