SPHENOPHRYNE - American Museum of Natural History

30 BULLETIN AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY NO. 253
Fig. 14. Comparison of tibia lengths in Austrochaperina
derongo (circles) and A. rivularis
(squares) from Southern Highlands Province, Papua
New Guinea. For regression data, see table 3.
size range. Mature females may be as small
as 31 mm SVL, but others as large as 35 mm
have ova only slightly enlarged. In the series
of 19 specimens from Irian Jaya there are
five gravid females in the range of 33.0–35.4
mm SVL, whereas a 28- mm specimen is
immature. Five males 29.0 to 34.8 mm have
vocal slits, and a 26.7-mm specimen does
not. The specimens from Southern Highlands
Province include six adult females 29.5 to
35.6 mm SV and one apparently maturing at
27.8 mm. Five males 25.6 to 32.6 mm have
vocal slits. The four largest females (SVL
44.7–49.7 mm) are all from one locality, Gigabip
in Western Province. Thus, there appears
to be geographic variation in size at
maturity and in maximum size.
Differences in proportions as well as in
size are evident among the widely scattered
samples of derongo (table 2). Regression
data are in table 3.
Variations from the color pattern described
for the holotype include: dorsum largely
without dark speckles; no postocular pale
band; chin and chest darker than abdomen;
tip of snout pale, almost white, in both sexes.
In life, the individual illustrated from Soliabedo
(fig. 12) was light olive-drab dorsally
and somewhat yellower bordering the abdo-
Fig. 15. Comparison of eye diameters in Austrochaperina
derongo (circles) and A. rivularis
(squares) from Southern Highlands Province, Papua
New Guinea. For regression data, see table 3.
men. The iris was similar to the dorsal
ground color (as seen in a color transparency).
A specimen from Derongo (color transparency)
was reddish brown dorsally with
darker markings, the border of the abdomen
creamy white, and the iris brownish gold.
Color transparencies of two specimens from
Irian Jaya show a light gray ground color in
one, a darker gray in the other. Each has a
darker scapular mark, and the darker individual
has the eyelids and anterior of the head
darker gray (fig. 31H).
Most males (and some females) have the
tip of the snout much paler than the rest of
the head.
ILLUSTRATIONS: 3rd finger terminal phalanx,
fig. 71Q; 3rd finger disc, fig. 50; premaxilla,
fig. 64H; sacral region, fig. 73D; vomer,
fig. 65L; hand and foot, fig. 55B.
CALL: Stephen Richards recorded the call
of this species at Wapoga Alpha Camp in Irian
Jaya on April 9, 1998. The call is a series
of brief, harsh, pulsed notes (table 5). Mr.
Richards estimates that his recording lacks the
first three notes of the call, so by extrapolation
the complete call would have lasted about 13
sec and comprised of about 24 notes. Five
notes average 0.075 sec in length (0.070–
0.077) with an average of 13 pulses (12–15).