SPHENOPHRYNE - American Museum of Natural History

58 BULLETIN AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY NO. 253
3. EN/SVL 0.082 ................ rubra
EN/SVL 0.082 .................... 4
4. Canthus rostralis sharp, loreal region nearly
vertical, postocular fold straight .........
..................... schlaginhaufeni
Canthus rostralis rounded, loreal region sloping,
postocular fold curves down abruptly
behind ear ................... dentata
5. Advertisement call a single note repeated every
several seconds, males possess vocal
slits .................... rhododactyla
Advertisement call a series of rapidly repeated
notes, males lack vocal slits ...... similis
Liophryne allisoni, new species
Figure 32
HOLOTYPE: AMNH A81221 (field no. RZ
7890), collected by R. G. Zweifel on July 22,
1968, in Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea,
on the road from Wau to Edie Creek,
north slope of Mt. Kaindi, elevation 1900 m,
about 5 km west and 1 km north of Wau.
Paratypes (all from Papua New Guinea):
Eastern Highlands Prov.: AMNH A66710–
66718, collected by H. M. Van Deusen
(Sixth Archbold Expedition), Oct. 14–24,
1959, at Arau, 1400 m, 22 km E, 9 km S
Kainantu. Morobe Prov.: AMNH A83080,
AMS 111068, collected by H. G. Cogger
(Alpha Helix New Guinea Expedition), Sept.
7, 1969, on the Wau–Edie Creek Road, about
9.7 km from Wau; BPBM 6230, collected by
J. L. Gressitt, Sept. 4–6, 1974, 20–25 km
ESE Kaisenik, 1700–2000 m; BPBM 6358,
collected by A. Allison, June 26, 1974, on
Mt. Kaindi, 1800 m, 5 km WNW Wau;
BPBM 6417, 6418, collected by T. K. Pratt
et al., Oct. 17, 1974, on Mt. Missim, about
10 km NE Wau, 1600 m; BPBM 8475, collected
by A. Allison, Jan. 23, 1982, on Mt.
Missim, about 1500 m; BPBM 8515, collected
by A. Allison, Feb. 19, 1982, on Mt.
Missim, 1650 m; BPBM 9359, 9361, 9366,
collected by A. Allison, Feb. 16, 1982 on Mt.
Missim, Poverty Ck., 1500 m; BPBM 9371,
9374–9376, 9379, collected by A. Allison,
Feb. 19, 1983, on Mt. Missim, Coldwater
Ck., 1650 m; BPBM 9389, 9390, collected
by A. Allison, Feb. 12, 1982, on Mt. Missim,
Poverty Ck., 1550 m; BPBM 9408, collected
by A. Allison, Feb. 14, 1982, on Mt. Missim,
Poverty Ck., 1600 m; BPBM 9550, collected
by A. Allison, Apr. 4, 1982, on Mt. Missim,
Poverty Ck., 2000 m; BPBM 9554, collected
by A. Allison, Feb. 16, 1982, on Mt. Missim,
1990 m; BPBM 9628–9632 (9631 C&S),
collected by M. Buka, Apr. 20, 1982, on Mt.
Missim, 1950 m; BPBM 9702, collected by
A. Allison, May 20, 1982, 5 km NNW Wau,
1800 m.
ETYMOLOGY: The patronym honors Dr. Allen
Allison of the Bishop Museum, in recognition
of his collections of this species as
well as other important contributions to the
biology of Papua New Guinea.
DIAGNOSIS: Differs from other species of
Liophryne in its small size (SVL 30 mm or
less) and in the small size and relative obscurity
of the ear. L. dentata and L. schlaginhaufeni
just enter maturity at the maximum
size of allisoni, and similis and rhododactyla
do so at a still larger size.
DESCRIPTION OF HOLOTYPE: Adult male
with the following measurements and proportions:
SVL 24.6, HW 10.2, TL 12.9, EY
3.0, EN 2.0, IN 3.1, HD 5.8, FT 12.8, third
finger disc 0.55, fourth toe disc 1.0, TY
2.0; HW/SVL 0.415, TL/SVL 0.524, EY/
SVL 0.122, EN/SVL 0.081, IN/SVL 0.126,
EN/IN 0.645, HD/SVL 0.236, FT/SVL
0.520, FD/SVL 0.022, TD/SVL 0.041.
Head narrower than body, snout bluntly
pointed seen from above, rounded and slightly
protruding in profile; loreal region a moderately
steep slope, scarcely concave; canthus
rostralis rounded; nostrils lateral, barely visible
from above, a little closer to tip of snout
than to eye. Eye moderately large, eyelid
about 80% of interorbital space; tympanic
annulus scarcely visible. Relative lengths of
fingers 3 4 2 1, first more than half
length of second, all with grooved terminal
discs scarcely or (1st) not broader than penultimate
phalanges; subarticular and metacarpal
elevations low, rounded. Toes unwebbed,
relative lengths 4 3 5 2 1, all
with grooved terminal discs, those on third
and fourth about 2 widths of penultimate
phalanges, others progressively narrower; subarticular
elevations rounded, slightly prominent;
a small, elongate inner metatarsal tubercle,
no others. Skin smooth above and below
with only a trace of a postocular fold.
The ground color in preservative is tan
with small, vague, darker marks and a pair
of more prominent, small dark spots in the