SPHENOPHRYNE - American Museum of Natural History

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24 BULLETIN AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY NO. 253 and patterned like the dorsum, but with a paler ground color and more conspicuous spotting. There is no dark seat patch. The ventral ground color is pale tan, almost white, with numerous small, slightly darker spots on the throat and chest and a sparser scattering of these on the abdomen. The soles are dark and unspotted. VARIATION IN TYPE SERIES: Averages and ranges of selected proportions are in table 2, and regression statistics are in table 3. The largest of 13 specimens is the holotype, a gravid female 26.3 mm SVL. Females at 22.1 and 22.9 mm are possibly immature, but one of 22.7 mm is gravid and other larger individuals are mature. Four males 22.6 to 24.4 mm SVL have vocal sac openings and thus are presumably mature. Except for minor differences, the description of the holotype could stand for the other specimens as well. The dorsal surfaces are not always as smooth as in the holotype, but may bear a scattering of inconspicuous, tiny warts. In 11 of 13 specimens the disc on the fourth toe is slightly but distinctly broader than on the third finger, and in one of the exceptional cases the toe disc appears to be shrunken. There is no significant variation in color or pattern. ILLUSTRATIONS: 3rd finger terminal phalanx, fig. 71L; premaxilla, fig. 64C; sacral region, fig. 73E; vomer, fig. 65K; hands and feet, fig. 56F. CALL: This has not been described. COMPARISONS WITH OTHER SPECIES: The description and illustration of Chaperina punctata van Kampen (here considered a synonym of Austrochaperina macrorhyncha) resemble Austrochaperina blumi in several respects, and the type series of punctata comes from the upper reaches of the Lorentz River, not greatly distant (though across the central divide) from the localities for blumi. The most striking difference between blumi and macrorhyncha is their size. The largest of 14 blumi is only 26.3 mm SVL, and both males and females of less than 23 mm are mature. In contrast, macrorhyncha matures at about 30 mm and reaches 36.8 mm. Three species that resemble blumi in most proportions are A. gracilipes, A. novaebritanniae, and A. yelaensis. These are smaller species reaching maximum size at 22–23 mm SVL, whereas this is approximately the minimum size at maturity of blumi. In addition, blumi has relatively larger finger discs (table 3). The species are widely separated geographically, with novaebritanniae and yelaensis being insular and gracilis being an Australian species found also in the southern lowlands of Papua New Guinea. REFERRED SPECIMEN: A single specimen from western Papua New Guinea agrees with the type series in most respects, although it has slightly larger EN and HW measurements and a greater IN than do others of similar size. I tentatively refer this specimen to this species, but exclude it from paratype status because of its geographic remoteness (some 250 km east of the localities in Irian Jaya) and because I had no opportunity to compare it directly with the specimens from Irian Jaya. HABITAT AND HABITS: Dr. Harold Cogger (personal commun.) found the referred specimen, a male, on an egg mass in a fissure in a clay bank in a regrowth area. DISTRIBUTION: The type-series localities for Austrochaperina blumi lie at 1400–1500 m on the north slope of the central dividing range of Irian Jaya (fig. 10). LOCALITY RECORDS AND SPECIMENS EXAM- INED: Localities of the holotype and paratype specimens are cited above. The referred specimen, AMS R127758, has the following data: Papua New Guinea: West Sepik Prov.; ca 2 km W Atemkinkin Village, itself ca 7 km W Telefomin, 14134E, 0506S, collected April 13, 1987. REMARKS: Dr. Blum noted the native names for this frog as ‘‘tanaofoge’’ at Kosarek and ‘‘calap’’ at Bime Valley. Austrochaperina brevipes (Boulenger), new combination Figures 11, 31B Liophryne brevipes Boulenger, 1897: 11 (type locality, ‘‘Mount Victoria, Owen Stanley Range, New Guinea’’; holotype, BMNH 1947.2.12.50, formerly 1896.10.31.31, collected by A. S. Anthony; see account of Liophryne rhododactyla for information on locality and date of collection). Sphenophryne brevipes: Parker, 1934: 158 (first use of combination). TYPE MATERIAL: The holotype is in mod-
2000 ZWEIFEL: PARTITION OF SPHENOPHRYNE 25 Fig. 10. Distribution of three Oxydactyla and Austrochaperina species in the highlands of Irian Jaya. Closed circles, O. brevicrus; open circles, A. blumi; arrow, A. kosarek (sympatry). erately good condition though somewhat faded. It has not been sexed. Parker (1934) referred to it as juvenile, although from its size (20.5 mm SVL by my measurement, 22 mm by Parker’s earlier measurement) it could be an adult male or subadult female (see below). There are no paratypes. Measurements and proportions of the holotype are: SVL 20.5, TL 7.4, HW 8.4, HD 4.3, FT 8.2, EY 2.65, EN 1.69, IN 1.93; TL/SVL 0.361, HW/SVL 0.410, HD/SVL 0.210, FT/SVL 0.400, EY/ SVL 0.129, EN/SVL 0.082, IN/SVL 0.094, EN/IN 0.876. The finger and toe tips are too dried to be measured with accuracy. DIAGNOSIS: Distinguished from most of its congeners by its relatively small digital discs: those of the fingers not (or scarcely) broader than the penultimate phalanges; those of the toes broader than on the fingers but still only slightly expanded. Austrochaperina kosarek has even less development of finger discs, Fig. 11. Austrochaperina brevipes, AMNH A130535, SVL 23.9 mm male and associated eggs. with indistinct terminal grooves and only the disc of the third finger slightly expanded. Two species, A. aquilonia and A. mehelyi, have finger discs similar to those of brevipes but differ in body size and other proportions (see Comparisons). MORPHOLOGY: A small (SVL up to 28 mm), stocky, relatively broad-headed frog (HW/SVL mean 0.412) with hind legs of moderate length (TL/SVL mean 0.408) and relatively large eyes (EY/SVL mean 0.123). Snout bluntly pointed to almost rounded seen from above, high and almost vertical but slightly rounded in profile; nostrils lateral, almost terminal in profile, scarcely visible from above; loreal region a moderately steep slope, canthus rostralis abrupt but not sharp. Eyes prominent, visible from beneath, upper lid about 60% of interorbital distance. Tympanum indistinct, horizontal diameter half that of the eye or less. Relative lengths of fingers 3 4 2 1, first well developed, more than half the length of second; finger tips flattened and disclike with (except possibly the first) terminal grooves, equal in width to penultimate phalanges or scarcely broader (fig. 54B); subarticular and metacarpal elevations low, rounded, not at all obvious. Relative lengths of toes 4 3 5 2 1, all unwebbed and with flattened, grooved, slightly broadened terminal discs distinctly larger than those of fingers (fig. 54B); subarticular and inner metacarpal elevations low, rounded; no outer metacarpal elevation. A straight fold of skin diagonally downward from posterior corner of eye, touching upper edge of tympanum and be-
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