SPHENOPHRYNE - American Museum of Natural History
SPHENOPHRYNE - American Museum of Natural History
SPHENOPHRYNE - American Museum of Natural History
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2000 ZWEIFEL: PARTITION OF <strong>SPHENOPHRYNE</strong><br />
33<br />
color was present in the Papuan frogs. Australian<br />
specimens are illustrated in color in<br />
Cogger (1992) and Cameron and Cogger<br />
(1992).<br />
VARIATION IN SIZE AND PROPORTIONS: The<br />
largest <strong>of</strong> about 100 specimens from Papua<br />
New Guinea is a female 22.8 mm SVL, and<br />
all eight frogs measuring more than 20 mm<br />
are females. Males reach 19.6 mm and are<br />
mature (calling) by at least 17.5 mm. Females<br />
are mature by at least 19.1 mm, probably<br />
smaller. Statistics for proportions are in<br />
table 2, and those for regressions in table 3.<br />
Minor average differences in some proportions<br />
between Australian and New Guinean<br />
samples do not appear to be significant<br />
(Zweifel, 1985b).<br />
ILLUSTRATIONS: 3rd finger terminal phalanx,<br />
fig. 71J; premaxilla, fig. 64A; sacral region,<br />
fig. 72I; vomer, fig. 65I; hand and foot,<br />
fig. 57C.<br />
CALL: ‘‘The call is a train <strong>of</strong> relatively<br />
high-pitched peeps (about 3700–4300 Hz)<br />
uttered over a period <strong>of</strong> about 10–29 seconds,<br />
each peep about 0.14–0.17 seconds in<br />
length . . . . the number <strong>of</strong> notes per minute<br />
ranges from 77 to 100 and the number <strong>of</strong><br />
notes per call from 15 to 33 . . . . a minute<br />
or more may elapse between calls’’ (Zweifel,<br />
1985b: 291). The quoted description includes<br />
Papuan (fig. 77D) and Australian samples<br />
with a temperature range <strong>of</strong> 23.4–24.8C. No<br />
geographic differentiation is evident.<br />
COMPARISONS WITH OTHER SPECIES: This is<br />
a rather generalized species <strong>of</strong> Austrochaperina<br />
with no particularly distinguishing<br />
morphological features except its small size,<br />
but it differs from other New Guinean species<br />
in its call and lowland, seasonal habitat.<br />
No other known New Guinean Austrochaperina<br />
has a repetitive, peeping call (although<br />
several Cophixalus and Oreophryne do), and<br />
no other Austrochaperina is known from<br />
grassy or savanna habitats at low elevations.<br />
Austrochaperina adelphe <strong>of</strong> Northern Territory,<br />
Australia, is identical in morphology<br />
to A. gracilipes but differs in the advertisement<br />
call. Curiously, whereas Australian and<br />
New Guinean gracilipes differ in that the former<br />
have bright orange pigmentation in the<br />
axilla and groin, adelphe and New Guinea<br />
gracilipes are alike in lacking this feature.<br />
HABITAT AND HABITS: Where I collected A.<br />
gracilipes at Wipim, the frogs had climbed<br />
up blades <strong>of</strong> grass at night to call where the<br />
vegetation was grassy woodland with denser<br />
gallery forest along small streams. Other<br />
Papuan localities appear to be in similar vegetation.<br />
In Australia the species lives at similar<br />
sites but also evidently invades pockets<br />
<strong>of</strong> rainforest (Cameron and Cogger, 1992;<br />
Zweifel, 1985b).<br />
Parker (1982) recorded gracilipes (as<br />
Sphenophryne robusta) as the prey <strong>of</strong> a<br />
snake, Tropidonophis mairi (as Amphiesma<br />
mairi).<br />
DISTRIBUTION: Austrochaperina gracilipes<br />
is the only species <strong>of</strong> microhylid frog known<br />
to inhabit both Australia and New Guinea<br />
(fig. 7). In the former area it occurs on the<br />
Cape York Peninsula <strong>of</strong> Queensland. The<br />
known range in Papua New Guinea encompasses<br />
the non-rainforested lowlands <strong>of</strong><br />
Western Province. It is likely that gracilipes<br />
occurs also in adjacent parts <strong>of</strong> Irian Jaya,<br />
although the species is not yet reported from<br />
there.<br />
LOCALITY RECORDS AND SPECIMENS EXAM-<br />
INED: See Zweifel (1985b: 292–293) for this<br />
information.<br />
REMARKS: Austrochaperina gracilipes may<br />
be a junior synonym <strong>of</strong> Microbatrachus pusillus;<br />
see the account <strong>of</strong> that questionable<br />
taxon.<br />
Austrochaperina guttata, new species<br />
Figures 18, 31C<br />
HOLOTYPE: MCZ A92812 (field no.<br />
Y22785), collected by W. Hutton at 30 km<br />
N, 14 km W Kikori, Gulf Province, Papua<br />
New Guinea, on September 11, 1975.<br />
PARATYPES: All from Papua New Guinea.<br />
MCZ A132842–132846, AMNH A157842,<br />
collected by Fred Parker at Uraru, 90 m,<br />
Simbu Province, Oct. 2, 1967; MCZ 132825,<br />
collected by Fred Parker at Ining River, Soliabedo,<br />
360 m, Simbu Province, Sept. 24,<br />
1967; BPBM 13107, 13137, QM J67256,<br />
collected at Ivimka Field Station, 5.5 km S,<br />
5.6 km W <strong>of</strong> Tekadu Airstrip, 744.10S,<br />
14629.77E, 120 m, Gulf Province, by A.<br />
Allison, Oct. 15, 1996 and S. Richards on<br />
Nov. 19, 1996. I also designate BPBM 13157<br />
as paratype, which was taken from the last<br />
locality. A tape recording <strong>of</strong> its call and a