SPHENOPHRYNE - American Museum of Natural History

70 BULLETIN AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY NO. 253
midbody but broken; ventrally white with all
over dark reticulation, limbs included; soles
and anal region black.
VARIATION IN SIZE AND PROPORTIONS: The
largest among 23 specimens examined is a
female, SVL 42.9 mm. The smallest evidently
mature female, 30.3 mm, has ova 2.5
mm in diameter. Mature males (vocal sac
openings present) range from 29.1 to 38 mm.
The number of specimens is inadequate to
investigate geographic variation. Statistics on
proportions are summarized in table 6, and
regression data are presented in table 7.
ILLUSTRATIONS: 3rd finger terminal phalanx,
fig. 71I; premaxilla, fig. 63H; sacral region,
fig. 72H; vomer, fig. 65H; hand and
foot, fig. 54D. Mahony et al. (1992) illustrated
the karyotype. Boulenger (1914: pl.
XXVII, figs. 3, 3a, 3b) has excellent drawings
of a syntype of S. klossi. Bickford
(1999) has a color photograph of a male
schlaginhaufeni transporting several young.
CALL: G. P. Opit (note on BPBM field tag,
specimen from Adelbert Mountains) stated:
‘‘Calls both day and night; several loud,
high-pitched, very bird-like chirps.’’ James
Menzies has provided me with recordings of
three frogs made near Mabimap Village,
Adelbert Mountains, Madang Province, Papua
New Guinea. The call lasts roughly six to
11 sec and consists of a series of 11 to about
20 pulsed, chirplike notes, averaging about
0.09 sec in one frog and 0.13 sec in another
(table 9, fig. 79A). The dominant frequency
is 2200–2400 Hz.
COMPARISONS WITH OTHER SPECIES: The
only species that much resemble schlaginhaufeni
are L. dentata and L. rubra. The first
two are closely similar in size and proportions
but are readily distinguished by the
characters given in the Diagnosis and additionally
by the dark face mask of schlaginhaufeni.
So far as is known, their geographic
ranges are widely separated. L. rubra occurs
closer to schlaginhaufeni although probably
at higher elevations. See the account of rubra
for morphological comparisons.
HABITAT AND HABITS: I have had no field
experience with this species and there is
nothing pertinent in the literature. G. B. Opit
(notes on field tags, BPBM specimens) found
schlaginhaufeni active both by day and night
on leaf litter in primary forest in the Adelbert
Mountains. Bickford (1999) reported that the
male broods the eggs and carries the newly
hatched young on its back and sides for up
to 8 days.
DISTRIBUTION: Although recorded from
few localities, Liophryne schlaginhaufeni evidently
has a rather extensive distribution at
middle elevations (about 400–1550 m, but
one record as low as 15 m). It has not yet
been taken on the Huon Peninsula or on the
eastern tail of Papua New Guinea (fig. 38).
Published records for the species in the latter
region were based on a specimen of S. dentata
(Zweifel, 1956; see the account of dentata)
and on misidentified Cophixalus cheesmanae
(Room, 1974: 440; MCZ specimens
examined by me).
LOCALITY RECORDS AND SPECIMENS EXAM-
INED: IRIAN JAYA: Launch Camp, Setekwa
River (BMNH 1947.2.12.45–46, syntypes of
Sphenophryne klossi); 18 km SSE Timeka
Airport, 15 m (BPBM 13859). PAPUA NEW
GUINEA: Western Prov.: Derongo, 550 m
(MCZ A80000). West Sepik Prov.: Mt. Hunstein,
1200 m (AMNH A77589–77591); Mt.
Nibo, Torricelli Mtns., 700–1550 m (AMNH
A78182–78184). East Sepik Prov.: Upper