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| Oreophryne chlorops Günther, Iskandar & Richards. 2023 DOI: 10.3897/vz.73.e94207 |
Abstract
The microhylid genus Oreophryne reaches its greatest diversity in the New Guinea region, where more than 60 species have been documented to date. Most Oreophryne are small (<30 mm SVL) and only three species, O. anthonyi, O. idenburgensis and O. inornata, exceed 40 mm SVL adult body size. Here we describe a fourth large species of Oreophryne that was collected in 1998 from the mountains of Papua Province in western New Guinea. In having a cartilaginous connection between the procoracoid and scapula it is most similar to O. idenburgensis, a species known only from the mountains of central-western New Guinea but differs from that species in a suite of morphological characters including a broader head, a hidden (vs. visible) tympanum and a more pointed snout.
Key Words: Central cordillera, frog, Indonesia, morphology, new species, taxonomy
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| Adult male holotype of Oreophryne chlorops sp. nov.: c, d dorsal and ventral views of body; e, f palmar and plantar views, in preservative. |
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| Adult male holotype of Oreophryne chlorops sp. nov.: a dorsolateral view of body; b lateral view of head, in life. |
Oreophryne chlorops sp. nov.
Diagnosis: A species of Oreophryne based on the presence of eleutherognathine maxillae and clavicles that do not extend to the scapulae. Size large (>40 mm SUL); bony clavicle strongly curved; cartilaginous procoracoid reaching scapula; fifth toe slightly longer than third; tympanum not visible externally; iris blue-green in life; W-shaped scapular folds and eye spot in lumbar region present.
Etymology: The specific epithet is a combination of the ancient Greek adjective chloros meaning green, and the ancient Greek substantive ops meaning eye. Chlorops is a compound noun in apposition meaning green-eye and refers to the blue-green iris colour of the holotype.
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| Wet mossy forest interior at the type locality of Oreophryne chlorops sp. nov. |
Rainer Günther, Djoko T. Iskandar and Stephen J. Richards. 2023. A New large Oreophryne Species from the Mountains of Papua Province, Indonesian New Guinea (Amphibia, Anura, Microhylidae). Vertebrate Zoology. 73: 153-159. DOI: 10.3897/vz.73.e94207
