SPHENOPHRYNE - American Museum of Natural History

32 BULLETIN AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY NO. 253
Fig. 17. Austrochaperina gracilipes, AMNH
A83072, SVL 18.0 mm.
Austrochaperina gracilipes Fry
Figure 17
Austrochaperina gracilipes Fry, 1912: 93 (type
locality, ‘‘Somerset, Cape York, North Queensland,’’
Australia; holotype, AMS R4536, collected
by C. Hedley and A. R. McCulloch in
October 1907).
S[phenophryne]. gracilipes: Nieden, 1926: 48
(first use of this combination).
Sphenophryne gracilipes: Parker, 1934: 155.
Zweifel, 1962: 31; 1985b: 289.
Sphenophryne robusta: Zweifel, 1965: 2 (part,
gracilipes considered a synonym).
DIAGNOSIS: A small Austrochaperina—females
to almost 23 mm SVL, males to 20
mm—with well-developed digital discs,
small eyes (EY/SVL 0.115), long legs
(TL/SVL mean of 0.464), and a call consisting
of a train of high-pitched peeps. No other
known New Guinean Austrochaperina has
this combination of characteristics.
MORPHOLOGY: Size small, less than 23 mm
SVL. Head narrow, tapering to bluntly
rounded snout, more pointed in profile, and
overhanging the somewhat undershot lower
jaw. Loreal region flat, nearly vertical; nostrils
lateral, scarcely visible from above,
about halfway between eye and snout tip but
appearing closer to latter in profile. Eyes lateral,
easily visible from below; eyelid slightly
narrower than interorbital space. Tympanum
inconspicuous, annulus one-half eye diameter
or less. Relative lengths of fingers 3
4 2 1, first less than half length of
second; fingers 2–4 with grooved terminal
discs slightly broader than penultimate pha-
langes, disc of first finger not broadened; subarticular
and inner metacarpal elevations
moderately prominent (fig. 57C). Toes unwebbed,
relative lengths 4 3 5 2
1, first less than half length of second;
grooved terminal discs of toes 2–5 broader
than penultimate phalanges and larger than
finger discs, disc on first toe small, not
broader than penultimate phalanx; subarticular
and inner metatarsal elevations moderately
prominent (fig. 57C). Body smooth
above and below; a weak, curved postocularsupratympanic
fold.
COLOR AND PATTERN: The dorsal ground
color in preservative is brown. A dark loreal
streak often continues as an ill-defined dorsolateral
streak separating the paler side of
the body from the darker middorsal region.
Small dark spots often are present on the dorsal
and lateral ground color, and most individuals
have a pale vertebral hairline. The
upper surfaces of the limbs are tan with darker
spots and speckles. The groin is paler, immaculate,
or with indistinct darker flecks.
Anterior and posterior surfaces of the thighs
have a similarly pale ground color but are
more heavily marked, comparable to the dorsal
surfaces. The chin and chest are spotted
to mottled with gray-brown on a tan ground,
with the intensity of spotting being quite variable.
The tip of the snout is gray. The abdomen
is typically less heavily marked,
whereas the undersides of the thighs are
more like the chin and chest.
Living frogs from Wipim, Western Province
(fig. 17), had the dorsum grayish to
golden brown anteriorly, changing to reddish
brown posteriorly and on the hind legs; a
fairly distinct dark stripe on the canthus rostralis
and through the ear, and a diffuse darker
band dorsolaterally on the back; central
area of the back somewhat darker than the
sides; a fine vertebral hairline; remainder of
the dorsal pattern mostly in the form of dark
brown to black maculations on the ground
color; undersides mottled with dark and light
gray, mottling more intense on the chin and
farther back on the ventral surfaces; and iris
golden in the upper half, much darker reddish
gold in the lower half. Australian frogs
of this species have bright orange in the axilla
and groin as well as on the hidden surfaces
of the thighs and upper arm; no such