SPHENOPHRYNE - American Museum of Natural History

90 BULLETIN AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY NO. 253
thin, longitudinal light line, and light lines of
the same width diagonally cross the anterodorsal
surface of the thigh and the dorsal surfaces
of the lower leg segments in many individuals.
The posterior of the thigh is slightly
darker than the dorsal surface with tiny
light spots. The ventral surfaces are almost
completely pale in some specimens, but in
others there is heavy dark mottling, especially
on the chin and chest.
I recorded the following colors in life for
the specimen illustrated (fig. 31A, evidently
it had paled slightly when photographed): a
dark reddish brown middorsal band not
sharply defined from lighter reddish brown
ground color of head and rest of dorsal surfaces;
anterior and posterior surfaces of
thighs grayish brown with numerous minute
yellowish white flecks; chin and chest brighter
reddish brown than dorsum, with graybrown
mottling; paired tubercles on chest
and anterior part of abdomen tipped with
white, a similar row of tiny white tubercles
margined with black along lateral surface of
body; iris grayish gold. A frog from Western
Province had a golden line along the canthus
rostralis reaching to the spike on the eyelid
and a pale vertebral hairline in addition to
the dorsal line on the thigh; chin and chest
gray with splotches of orange; iris grayish
gold with a red streak before and behind the
pupil. Another specimen from the same region
was largely gray beneath with a white
midventral hairline and no red streak in the
grayish gold iris.
Menzies (1976, pl. 12d) illustrated in color
a specimen of much grayer aspect than those
described, and (p. 61) mentioned one speci-
men whose ‘‘ventral side was bright red all
over.’’ Brongersma and Venema (1962: 104)
stated ‘‘it has a brown back and a rusty-red
belly.’’
VARIATION IN SIZE AND PROPORTIONS: Parker
(1934: 154) gave the maximum length as
41 mm. The largest specimen I measured is
41.5 mm SVL (ZMA, uncataloged from
Heuvelbivak, Lorentz River, Irian Jaya, probably
female but not sexed). A female syntype
of Chaperina ceratophthalmus (ZMA 5779)
measures 40.0 mm. Males reach at least 37.4
mm (ZMA 5777, syntype of C. ceratophthalmus;
RMNH 16641, one of several with this
number), but few males attain 36 mm whereas
many females do. I measured and sexed
61 specimens (RMNH) from Mabilibol, Sibil
Valley, Star Mountains, Irian Jaya. Males
mature at about 28 mm and females at only
a slightly larger size: The smallest males
with vocal slits are that size; females of about
27–28 mm have apparently immature ova,
whereas enlarging ova are present at 29 mm
SVL.
Variation in proportions among adults in
the large sample from the Sibil Valley region
of West Irian is set forth in table 12, and
regression statistics are presented in table 13.
I detect no geographic trends in size or proportions
in this widespread species. Measurements
of individuals in scattered, smaller
samples fall within the ranges set by the Sibil
specimens.
ILLUSTRATIONS: 3rd finger terminal phalanx,
fig. 71M; premaxilla, fig. 64D; sacral
region, fig. 73; vomer, fig. 65P; skull, fig. 66;
hand and foot, fig. 52; mandibular musculature,
fig. 75B.