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 />
45<br />
sonably thorough, lack critical measurements.<br />
In most respects the specimens I examined<br />
agree with the descriptions <strong>of</strong> mehelyi: size<br />
(though Parker was inconsistent, see above);<br />
eye and snout proportions; tympanum size;<br />
sizes <strong>of</strong> digital discs; ventral coloration (virtually<br />
identical with the illustration in Méhely¨;<br />
pl. 12, fig. 3). Relative leg length cannot<br />
be assessed accurately, but both authors describe<br />
the tibia-tarsal joint as reaching the<br />
eye, which suggests a relatively long-legged<br />
frog, as are those examined. Differences include:<br />
interorbital space twice eyelid width<br />
(about 1.3 in my specimens); uniform<br />
brown above (all examined have many small,<br />
dark brown spots). The differences notwithstanding,<br />
I think it best to refer these specimens<br />
to mehelyi. The alternative <strong>of</strong> treating<br />
mehelyi as a synonym <strong>of</strong> A. polysticta seems<br />
less desirable (see that species account for<br />
comments).<br />
With new material available, I conclude<br />
that a specimen from near Lae that I referred<br />
to mehelyi (Zweifel, 1980) was incorrectly<br />
attributed. I describe it herein as Austrochaperina<br />
parkeri.<br />
Austrochaperina novaebritanniae,<br />
new species<br />
Figure 26<br />
Sphenophryne mehelyi: Tyler, 1967: 188 (initial<br />
published reference to A. novaebritanniae).<br />
HOLOTYPE: AMNH A83058, collected on<br />
August 28, 1969, by Harold Cogger (Alpha<br />
Helix Expedition) about 12 miles (19 km)<br />
from Rabaul, East New Britain Province,<br />
Papua New Guinea, on the road to Keravat.<br />
PARATYPES: All localities in East New<br />
Britain Province. AMNH A83053–83057,<br />
A88569 (C&S), AMS R29243, 29246,<br />
29251, 29253–29255, 29259, 29266, 29268,<br />
29272, 29279, 29282, 29285, 29286, 29296,<br />
29305, 29313, 29314, 29317, 29318, 29324,<br />
29328, 29329, 29331, 29333, 29334, 29343–<br />
29346, 29349, 29351, 29352, 29355, 29361–<br />
29363, 29366, 29368, 29370–29372, all with<br />
same data as holotype; AMNH A79870–<br />
79872, MCZ A73085, 73086, BMNH<br />
1968.525, collected by D. Morgan at Keravat<br />
in March and July 1966; ZMUC R9151–<br />
9164, collected on the Noona Dan Expedi-<br />
Fig. 26. Austrochaperina novaebritanniae,<br />
AMS specimen, not individually identified. Harold<br />
Cogger photo.<br />
tion (Wolff, 1966), May 10–22, 1962, at Yalom,<br />
1000 m (425S, 15147.5E).<br />
ETYMOLOGY: The species name is a Latin<br />
substantive in the genitive, formed from the<br />
adjective novus and the noun Britannia,<br />
meaning ‘‘<strong>of</strong> New Britain,’’ and refers to the<br />
species’ provenance.<br />
DIAGNOSIS: A small species, males to 19<br />
and females to 21 mm SVL, with finger discs<br />
slightly broadened and a dorsal color pattern<br />
<strong>of</strong> tiny white spots on a dark background, the<br />
venter similar but with slightly larger spots.<br />
DESCRIPTION OF HOLOTYPE: Adult female,<br />
gravid, with the following measurements and<br />
proportions: SVL 18.2, HW 6.5, TL 8.5, EY<br />
2.1, EN 1.35, IN 1.9, HD 3.7, FT 7.8, third<br />
finger disc 0.45, fourth toe disc 0.70, TY 0.8;<br />
TL/SVL 0.467, HW/SVL 0.357, EY/SVL<br />
0.115, EN/SVL 0.074, IN/SVL 0.104, EN/IN<br />
0.710, HD/SVL 0.203, FT/SVL 0.429, TY/<br />
EY 0.405, third finger disc/SVL 0.025,<br />
fourth toe disc/SVL 0.036.<br />
Snout bluntly rounded seen from above,<br />
rounded and slightly projecting in pr<strong>of</strong>ile;<br />
nostrils lateral, slightly visible from above,<br />
widely spaced and closer to tip <strong>of</strong> snout than<br />
to eye, appearing almost terminal in lateral<br />
view; loreal region flat with a moderate<br />
slope, canthus rostralis rounded, not at all angular;<br />
eyes lateral, relatively large, upper lid<br />
about 75% <strong>of</strong> interorbital space; tympanum<br />
small, less than one-half eye diameter, outline<br />
<strong>of</strong> annulus scarcely visible. Relative<br />
lengths <strong>of</strong> fingers 3 2 4 1, first about