SPHENOPHRYNE - American Museum of Natural History

72 BULLETIN AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY NO. 253
km west of Mt. Bellamy, Northern Province,
Papua New Guinea. 11
PARATYPES: AMNH A130561–130565,
A130567–130569, A130571–130578,
A130580, A130581, UPNG 8274, collected
at the type locality by Fred Parker, R. Zweifel,
and L. Penny on Aug. 8–10, 1987;
UPNG 7080–7082, collected by James I.
Menzies at the type locality in March 1986.
ETYMOLOGY: The Latin adjective similis
refers to the morphological resemblance of
this species to Liophryne rhododactyla.
DIAGNOSIS: Morphologically identical to
Liophryne rhododactyla except for the lack
of vocal slits and sac in the adult male. The
call is a series of rapidly repeated notes rather
than the single note of rhododactyla.
DESCRIPTION OF HOLOTYPE: Adult male
(calling when captured) with the following
measurements and proportions: SVL 49.7,
HW 19.3, TL 22.9, EY 5.1, EN 3.5, IN 5.2,
TY 3.5, HD 12.0, FT 24.3, disc of third finger
1.55 (penultimate phalanx 1.1), disc of
fourth toe 1.95 (1.25); HW/SVL 0.388, TL/
SVL 0.461, EY/SVL 0.103, EN/SVL 0.070,
IN/SVL 0.105, EN/IN 0.673, HD/SVL
0.241, FT/SVL 0.489, FD/SVL 0.031, TD/
SVL 0.039.
Head slightly narrower than the somewhat
flat-sided body. Snout bluntly pointed seen
from above, rounded and slightly projecting
in profile; nostrils lateral, scarcely visible
from above, slightly closer to tip of snout
than to eye; canthus rostralis relatively sharp,
straight; loreal region nearly vertical, concave.
Eyes moderately large, corneal outline
visible from beneath, eyelid almost as wide
as interorbital space. Tympanum distinct, relatively
large, 69% of orbit, its diameter
greater than distance from eye. Relative
lengths of fingers 3 4 2 1, first finger
long, nearly equal to second, all fingers with
rounded discs bearing terminal grooves, disc
of first finger not enlarged, those of other fingers
wider than penultimate phalanges; subarticular
and metacarpal elevations moderately
prominent, rounded. Toes unwebbed,
relative lengths 4 3 5 2 1, all with
terminally grooved discs broader than those
on fingers, that of first toe smallest but broader
than penultimate phalanx; subarticular and
11 See footnote 4 for location of Myola Guest House.
inner metatarsal elevations moderately prominent,
rounded. Skin fairly smooth except for
indistinct, convergent scapular folds and narrow
postocular fold passing across upper
edge of tympanum, broadening into an elevated
triangular area, narrowing again above
front leg, and becoming obscure on midflank.
There are neither vocal slits nor (of
course) a vocal sac.
In preservative, the dorsal surfaces of head
and body are medium brown with faint, indefinite
smaller spots. The front legs and
hind legs are a deeper plumbeous shade, with
pale spots prominent on the front legs and
hands. The posterior thigh surface is colored
like the dorsum of the body but is unmarked.
A pale vertical line on the tip of the snout
bifurcates, passing along the canthus rostralis
and edge of eyelid and following the postorbital-dorsolateral
fold. The line is obscure
in places. The area below the pale line (loreal
region, flanks) is darker brown, but the tympanum
bears the paler dorsal shade. The lips
are light spotted. The ventral surfaces of
body and legs are brown with pale irregular
spots, smallest on the chin.
VARIATION IN TYPE SERIES: The largest
male in the series is 49.7 mm SVL. Because
of the lack of vocal slits in this species, I
cannot infer the size at male sexual maturity.
The largest females are gravid at 51.9 and
49.0 mm, whereas one of 39.6 mm appears
to be immature. Body proportions are summarized
in table 6, and regression statistics
are presented in table 7.
Inasmuch as the species is known only
from a single locality, nothing can be said of
geographic variation. Occasionally the scapular
folds are more evident than in the holotype,
and there are traces of short folds and
tubercles on the back. The dorsolateral fold
may extend almost to the groin.
Most specimens closely resemble the holotype
in color and pattern. Exceptions include
two specimens with more pale pigment
on the snout and eyelids instead of its restriction
to the canthal-dorsolateral line, one
specimen that is much paler all over (above
and below), one specimen with an asymmetrical
dark area in the anterior dorsal region,
and one specimen with a dark-edged dorsal
region and a pale band above the dorsolateral
fold. A midvertebral pale hairline is more ev-