Melanesia holds the world’s most diverse and intact insular amphibian fauna

Identifying hotspots of biological diversity is a key step in conservation prioritisation. Melanesia—centred on the vast island of New Guinea—is increasingly recognised for its exceptionally species-rich and endemic biota. Here we show that Melanesia has the world’s most diverse insular amphibian fauna, with over 7% of recognised global frog species in less than 0.7% of the world’s land area, and over 97% of species endemic. We further estimate that nearly 200 additional candidate species have been discovered but remain unnamed, pointing to a total fauna in excess of 700 species. Nearly 60% of the Melanesian frog fauna is in a lineage of direct-developing microhylids characterised by smaller distributions than co-occurring frog families, suggesting lineage-specific high beta diversity is a key driver of Melanesian anuran megadiversity. A comprehensive conservation status assessment further highlights geographic concentrations of recently described range-restricted threatened taxa that warrant urgent conservation actions. Nonetheless, by world standards, the Melanesian frog fauna is relatively intact, with 6% of assessed species listed as threatened and no documented extinctions; and thus it provides an unparalleled opportunity to understand and conserve a megadiverse and relatively intact insular biota

Two new frog species from the Foja Mountains in northwestern New Guinea (Amphibia, Anura, Microhylidae)

Two new microhylid frogs in the genera Choerophryne and Oreophryne are described from the Foja Mountains in Papua Province of Indonesia. Both are small species (males 15.9 – 18.5 mm snout-urostyle length SUL and 21.3 – 22.9 mm SUL respectively) that call from elevated positions on foliage in primary lower montane rainforest. The new Choerophryne species can be distinguished from all congeners by, among other characters, a unique advertisement call consisting of an unpulsed (or very finely pulsed) peeping note lasting 0.29 – 0.37 seconds. The new Oreophryne species belongs to a group that has a cartilaginous connection between the procoracoid and scapula and rattling advertisement calls. Its advertisement call is a loud rattle lasting 1.2 – 1.5 s with a note repetition rate of 11.3 – 11.7 notes per second

FIGURE 4 in Two new species of Callulops (Anura: Microhylidae) from montane forests in New Guinea

FIGURE 4. Map of New Guinea showing type localities of Callulops fojaensis sp. nov. (diamond) in the Foja Mountain Range, northern Papua Province, Indonesia; and Callulops medodiscus sp. nov. (star) on the southern slopes of the Central Cordillera in Papua New Guinea

STRUKTUR ALAT SUARA KATAK Litoria infrafrenata (Guenther), Platymantis papuensis Meyer DAN Rana daemeli (Steindachner), DI HUTAN, KEBUN DAN PEMUKIMAN DI KABUPATEN JAYAPURA, PAPUA

Acoustic signals are the primary mode of communication in frogs. General communication is a mating call, indicating the territorial, and also a surprise to predators. Each frog species has different sound characteristics: the frequency, amplitude, duration and length of the tune. The purpose of this study was to examine the structure of the vocal cord of the frog Litoria infrafrenata (Guenther), Platymantis papuensis Meyer and Rana daemeli (Steindachner

Two new microhylid frog species of the genus Xenorhina Peters, 1863 from the Raja Ampat Islands, Indonesia

Two new species of the asterophryine microhylid genus Xenorhina are described from the Raja Ampat archipelago off the western tip of New Guinea. Both are medium-sized (snout-urostyle length 29.9 – 35.2 and 28.5 – 39.5 mm), semi-fossorial frogs that call from hidden positions within the litter or under the soil surface. The two new species are morphologically similar but they have different advertisement calls. Although they are probably closely related, genetic studies are required to confirm this. The first species is known only from Salawati Island, a land-bridge island that was connected to the New Guinea mainland during the last glacial period. The second species is currently known only from Waigeo Island, an oceanic island long isolated from New Guinea that is separated from nearby Salawati by a major biogeographic barrier, the narrow but deep Sagewin Strait. Description of these two species appears to be another example of differentiation across this barrier, and brings the total number of Xenorhina known from New Guinea and surrounding islands to 34

Two new species of the genus Cophixalus from the Raja Ampat Islands west of New Guinea (Amphibia, Anura, Microhylidae)

Based on morphological and bioacoustic traits, two new species of the microhylid genus Cophixalus Boettger, 1892 are described from the Raja Ampat Islands off the western tip of New Guinea. Both are small (SUL < 23 mm), slender, scansorial species that are morphologically most similar to Cophixalus tetzlaffi Günther and C. monosyllabus Günther, two congeners also known only from far western New Guinea. Their description brings the total number of Cophixalus known from New Guinea and surrounding islands to 46, and the total number from western New Guinea (Papua and West Papua Provinces including the Raja Ampat Islands) to 10. One Cophixalus specimen from Salawati Island is considered a hermaphrodite because it has a well-developed vocal sac and vocal slits, but also has an ovary containing eggs in an advanced developmental stage. This frog uttered advertisement calls that did not differ from calls of conspecific males. The first evidence of the genus Cophixalus from Misool Island is also documented

Litoria hunti Richards, Oliver, Dahl & Tjaturadi, 2006, sp. nov.

Litoria hunti sp. nov. (Figs 1 –4) Type material Holotype. SAMA R 60716. Adult male with nuptial pads and vocal slits, calling when collected, Utai, Sanduan Province (141 ° 35 'E, 03° 23 'S), collected by Chris Dahl on 28 /05/ 2004. Paratypes. UPNG 10012, collected on 7 /06/04; SAMA R 60715, collected on 9 /06/04; UPNG 10013 and SAMA R 60714, collected on 11 /06/04; all adult male specimens with vocal slits and nuptial pads, collected by Chris Dahl from the type locality. Diagnosis Litoria hunti can be distinguished from all other Litoria by a combination of (1) moderately large size (males 57.9–60.4 mm) (2) predominately green dorsal colouration (3) presence of a thin off white mandibular stripe not or marginally extending beyond the tympanum (4) possession of two clusters of nuptial excrescences on each thumb (5) presence of prominent off white dermal fold extending from outer edge of toe V, along the tarsus and across the heel (6) prominent off white dermal fold along arm (7) moderately robust build (HW/SVL 0.355–0.373) (8) moderately wide discs, especially on fingers (3 FP/ 3 FD 0.628–0.769) (9) iris without black pigmentation and (10) advertisement call a long guttural grunt lasting 0.7– 0.9 s Description of holotype Measurements are presented in Table. 1. Moderately robust frog; head approximately as wide as long (HW/HL 1.017), wider than body in dorsal view; snout truncate in both dorsal and lateral aspect; labial region sloping and flared; loreal region moderately sloping and marginally concave; canthus rostralis indistinct, curved; nares much closer to tip of snout than to eyes, oriented laterally but marginally visible in both dorsal and anterior views. Choanae large, roughly circular, separated by a distance approximately three times their width; vomerine teeth in bundles of 6–7 along the posterior ridge of two prominent elevations positioned medial to choanae. Eyes moderately small (EYE/SVL 0.110), protruding beyond head in both dorsal and lateral views, pupil horizontal. Tympanum moderately large (EAR /SVL 0.087), annulus distinct and raised, dorsal edge of tympanum obscured by supratympanic fold that extends from posterior edge of eye to axillary junction. In preservative body and legs smooth dorsally (slightly granular in life); ventrally throat, forelimbs and lower hindlimbs smooth, abdomen and upper portions of hindlimbs coarsely granular. Arms robust; prominent off white dermal fold extending from halfway along finger IV, along carpus and around elbow; fingers with relative lengths III>IV>II>I; discs prominent with supramarginal grooves, significantly wider than penultimate phalanx (3 FP/ 3 FD 0.730); subarticular tubercles rounded, two on digits I and II, three (with medial tubercle distinctly larger than distal and proximal tubercles) on digits III and IV; supernumerary tubercles low, indistinct, present on most proximal phalanx of II–IV; single large low inner metacarpal tubercle. Nuptial excrescences in two clusters at the base of digit I, proximal cluster much longer than wide, distal cluster shorter and roughly as wide as long. All digits webbed, webbing reaching proximal subarticular tubercle between digits I–II, to distal end of penultimate phalanx on II and IV, and just beyond tubercle at base of penultimate phalanx on both sides of III; slight dermal fringes on all digits. Legs moderately long (TL/SVL= 0.563); prominent off white dermal fold extending along tarsus from lateral edge of toe V across heel. Relative lengths of toes IV>III>V>II>I; discs expanded with circum­marginal grooves, significantly wider than penultimate phalanges (4 TP/ 4 TD 0.806); subarticular tubercles rounded, two on digits I and II, three on digits III and V, four on digit IV; numerous small indistinct round supranumerary tubercles visible on proximal phalanges of digits III–V; prominent ovoid inner metatarsal tubercle at base of digit I. All digits webbed, webbing extends to distal end of penultimate phalanx on inner edge of digit V, both sides of digit IV and outer edges of digits III, II and I, and to approximately halfway up penultimate phalanx on inner edge of digits III and II. In preservative the dorsal surfaces of head, body, arms and thighs are pale greyish blue, with poorly defined patches of slightly darker blue on the head, dorsum and legs along one side of the body. Numerous tiny pigment spots are visible on dorsum under magnification; ventral surfaces largely off white, with bluish areas of varying intensity along the outer edge of the tarsus, toe V, on the arms just behind the elbow, and around the discs on both hands and feet. Va r i a t i o n Measurements for the type series are presented in Table 1. The dorsal colour in preservative of the paratypes is the same as the holotype, with the exception of SAMA R 60715 which is a significantly darker greyish blue. In two animals (SAMA R 60714 and UPNG 10013) there is a line of brown pigment along the ventral edge of the lower jaw. The extent and intensity of the off white labial stripe varies, in some specimens it is very indistinct and does not extend beyond the edge of the jaw, while in others (including the holotype) it is more prominent and extends posteriorly to a distance approximately halfway across the tympanum. The dorsal surface of finger III and toe IV ranges from almost unpigmented to more than one half blue. In all animals the nuptial excrescences comprise two components, a long low posterior cluster and a rounded anterior cluster, however they sometimes merge, and both overall size and relative darkness varies; some of this variation is probably attributable to variation in reproductive condition. Appearance in life Based on photographs of a living specimen Litoria hunti has a relatively uniform pattern consisting of a leaf green dorsum and upper lateral zone, grading into orange­ish yellow lower lateral and ventral surfaces. In areas of integration between the two dominant colours, particularly on the mid­lateral surfaces there are a number of isolated green spots. The outer sides of the lower arms and all of the legs also leaf green. Dorsal surfaces of inner digits of both hands and feet are bright orange. Off­white labial, leg and arm stripes are clearly apparent. The eye has a distinctive orange­red outer rim, around an inner off white area that surrounds the pupil. The tympanum is largely green, except for a horseshoe shaped area of translucent skin. Advertisement call Twenty­three calls uttered by the holotype were analysed. The call is a single guttural grunt lasting 0.69– 0.9 s (mean 0.78 s, SD 0.05) and containing 109–154 pulses (mean 131.5, SD 16.22). Pulse pattern is unusual in that pulses are`clumped' in groups, most commonly of 3–4 pulses, rather than being uniformly distributed within the call (Figure 4). Energy is concentrated nearly equally in two major bands, at about 1900 hz and 900 hz. In 19 of 23 calls the dominant frequency is at 1787–2045 hz (mean 1926 hz, SD 70.8) but in four calls the lower frequency (885–915 hz) is dominant (mean 899.5, SD 12.26). Natural history Litoria hunti is an arboreal species that was normally heard calling from at least 5–8 m high in forest trees. The holotype was calling from just 1.5 m high in a swamp near Utai Village. This suggests that L. hunti breeds in lentic water bodies on or near the forest floor. The tok ples (local) name for this species is ‘Wowo’. FIGURE 4. Wave form of a single call of Litoria hunti (holotype, SAMA R 60716). Ta 26 o C. Distribution Litoria hunti has been collected from the forests around Utai in Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea. Two further specimens of a large green Litoria collected in the foothills of the Foya Mountains, Papua Province, Indonesia conform with this species in overall size, possession of a thin off white labial stripe, largely red iris and distinctive orange­yellow belly. Until these specimens are available for more detailed study we refrain from assigning them to L. hunti. Nonetheless it is likely that this new species has a broad distribution in the extensive lowland rainforests of northern New Guinea. Etymology Named in honour of the Hunt family of Adelaide in recognition of their generous support for research at the South Australian Museum. Comparison with other species The combination of large size and predominately green colouration make Litoria hunti superficially most similar to the New Guinea species Litoria infrafrenata and L. graminea. Litoria infrafrenata can be differentiated by its much larger adult size, less extensive webbing on fingers (generally not extending beyond the penultimate subarticular tubercle), much bolder labial stripe that extends beyond the posterior edge of the tympanum, and different call. The call of L. infrafrenata is a long series of double­notes (De la Riva et al. 2004). Litoria graminea as it is currently recognised is a complex of at least three morphologically and acoustically similar species (Richards & Oliver in prep). Litoria hunti can be distinguished from all members of the Litoria graminea ‘group’ by having an off white white labial stripe, only moderately expanded discs (4 FD/SVL 0.063–0.073 vs 0.069–0.084 in L. graminea group), smaller adult size (males 57.9–60.4 vs 63.7 –73.0 mm) and a call consisting of a long guttural grunt lasting 0.7– 0.9 s (vs <0.5 s in L. graminea group). There are a number of other medium to large, predominately green Litoria species in the Australopapuan region. Litoria caerulea is larger (to 80–100 mm; Tyler 1968), has a much broader head, prominent parotoid glands and lacks an off white labial stripe. Litoria multiplica has prominent, raised white dermal folds around the vent, a hidden tympanum, tends to have black ventral patterning, and is smaller (males 32.9 –42.0 mm) (Tyler 1968, pers obs). Members of the Litoria gracilenta group (Litoria aruensis, Litoria auae, Litoria elkeae, Litoria gracilenta and Litoria kumae) have a distinct canthal stripe running across the eyelid, lack dermal folds and white labial or leg stripes and are considerably smaller (males 24–38 mm SV; Tyler 1968, Menzies & Tyler 2004). Litoria sanguinolenta has halfwebbed hands, a flatter head and is also slightly smaller (males to 40 mm; Tyler 1968). The two Australian taxa Litoria chloris (Boulenger) and L. xanthomera Davies, McDonald & Adams are superficially similar but both lack an off white labial stripe and no or very indistinct off white dermal folds on the arms and legs. These two species have long, drawn­out finely pulsed calls with evenly spaced pulses, in contrast to the guttural grunt of L. hunti (Davies, McDonald & Adams 1986).Published as part of Richards, Stephen J., Oliver, Paul, Dahl, Chris & Tjaturadi, Burhan, 2006, A new species of large green treefrog (Anura: Hylidae: Litoria) from northern New Guinea, pp. 57-68 in Zootaxa 1208 on pages 59-65, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17242

Cyrtodactylus zugi Oliver, Tjaturadi, Krey & Richards, 2008, sp. nov.

Cyrtodactylus zugi sp. nov. Figures 1–3 Holotype: MZB lace 5574 (F-num SJR 7689), adult female with entire original tail, detached at base during collection, collected on large tree trunk in lowland rainforest adjacent to Yakut Camp, Batanta Island, Raja Ampat Archipelago, Papua Barat Province, Indonesia (00o 53.749 ’S, 130 o 38.498 ’E; elevation ~ 10 m asl) on 18 June 2005 by K. Krey, B. Tjaturadi and S. Richards. Paratypes: MZB lace 5575 (F-num SJR 7690) adult female with regrown tail, MZB lace 5573 (F-num 7749) adult female with regrown tail and damaged snout, both specimens with same collection information as the holotype except MZB lace 5573 collected 21 June 0 5. Diagnosis. Cyrtodactulus zugi sp. nov. can be distinguished from all other Melanesian Cyrtodactylus by the combination of large size (SVL up to 159 mm), robust build (HW/SVL 0.21–0.22), precloacal groove absent, subcaudal scales less than twice width of lateral and dorsal caudal scales, relatively small rounded tubercles along the lateral fold, a series of enlarged ventral tubercles present below the lateral fold, enlarged tubercles on ventral surface of head confined to the region around the angle of the lower jaw, moderate number of enlarged precloacal and femoral scales (> 28) arranged in straight or almost straight series, and dorsal colouration consisting of 3–4 very dark greyish-brown indistinct dorsal blotchess between the head and tail. Description of holotype. A large, robust gecko (SVL 159.0 mm), head long (HL/SVL 0.265), wide (HW/ HL 0.744) and very distinct from neck. Skin missing (damaged) in thin triangular section extending from just dorsal of the rostral to halfway up the snout. Loreal region slightly inflated, interorbital region and top of snout concave, canthus rostralis very weakly defined. Snout relatively long, much longer than eye diameter. Eyes relatively large, pupil vertical, supraciliaries prominent and frill like, extending over dorsal half of eye. Ear opening relatively small (Ear/HL= 0.098), much wider than high, surrounded by ventral, posterior and dorsal skinfolds. Rostral approximately twice as wide (7.2 mm) as high (3.8 mm), with slight medial depression, widest at the ventral edge of the nares, indistinct suture extending down left side from midpoint almost to jaw; two enlarged supranasals separated by two nasals, right nasal much larger and bordered dorso-laterally by smaller left nasal. Nares bordered by first supralabial, rostral, first supranasal and series of five (left) and four (right) postnasals. Twelve enlarged supralabials on both right and left side, supralabials roughly square to approximately midpoint of eye, posterior of eye greatly reduced and much higher than long, bordered dorsally by a discontinuous series of enlarged scales (becoming continuous just anterior to the eye). Infralabials reaching rictus, with twelve on each side, fifth infralabial on right side divided by horizontal suture into dorsal and slightly smaller ventral sections, bordered ventrally by several rows of enlarged scales. Mental triangular, much wider than long, flared anteriorly, bordered by two enlarged postmentals twice as long as wide. Enlarged tubercles present on ventral surface of head around the angle of the lower jaw, and in single row extending anteriorly along jawline to approximately level with orbital. Body elongate (TrL/SVL 0.455) with distinct ventrolateral folds. Lateral fold with low rounded tubercles separated from each other by 2–4 granules, posterior tubercles on fold are larger. One row of enlarged tubercles (2–3 times diameter of surrounding scales) positioned ventral to lateral fold. Dorsum heavily tuberculate, relatively large flattened tubercles arranged in approximately twenty indistinct rows at midpoint of body, tubercles on temporal and nuchal regions relatively smaller and tending towards conical. Ventral scales in approximately fifty rows at midpoint, becoming much wider medially; enlarged precloacal and femoral scales in very slightly curved continuous series of 32, extending to halfway along femur, bordered anteriorly by rows of smaller but still enlarged scales, particularly around vent, bordered posteriorly by much smaller granules. Forelimbs (FA/SVL 0.135) and hindlimbs (CS/SVL 0.187) relatively elongate, hindlimbs more robust and slightly longer than forelimbs (CS/FA 1.386). Lateral and dorsal surfaces of limbs heavily tuberculate, tubercles varying significantly in size, becoming more numerous, larger and somewhat more conical distally on forelimbs; evenly distributed on hindlimbs. Digits long and well developed, inflected at basal interphalangeal joints; subdigital lamellae smooth, undivided, expanded proximal to joint inflection; large recurved claws sheathed by a dorsal and ventral scale, 21 lamellae on left finger I, 24 on left finger IV; 22 lamellae on left toe I, 25 on left toe IV. Slight basal webbing on both manus and pes. Tail original but broken at time of collection, narrow, tapering to a point, with distinct lateral fold; caudal scales increasing in size ventrally, divided subcaudal scales distinctly enlarged relative to lateral and dorsal caudal scales. Enlarged tubercles absent on lateral and ventral surfaces of tail; numerous rows of enlarged dorsal tubercles at base of tail reduce to two rows that extend along tail for approximately 30 mm; four (left) and three (right) enlarged postanal tubercles at base of tail. Colouration. Dorsum with three large, dark greyish-brown irregular blotches (including nuchal band) on a background of various shades of light grey, tending to off-white in patches. Dark blotches extend laterally to approximately midpoint of body; further very small and indistinct dark dorsal blotches are barely visible between the two posterior-most large blotches. Nuchal band with almost straight (slightly concave) edge anteriorly (just above ears), extends posteriorly to axilla in a triangular shape and laterally across temporal region to posterior edge of the eyes: ventral edge of nuchal band sharply demarcated against greyish off-white lower lateral colouration of head; dorsal edge of nuchal band sharply demarcated against dorsal surface of head and lores which are light brown finely mottled with darker brown. Labials off-white, with indistinct brown barring. Throat finely mottled with light grey and off-white, venter of torso darker with scattered dark grey spots increasing in frequency posteriorly. Arms and legs mottled dark brown and dark grey dorsally, dark to light grey ventrally. Tail with three very wide dark brown dorsal bands followed by numerous smaller and increasingly broken bands posteriorly; area between dark bands light grey with numerous scattered dark brown spots; ventral surface of tail heavily mottled with numerous shades of grey and brown. MZB MZB MZB Variation. Comparative mensural and meristic data for the holotype and paratypes are given in Table 1. All specimens conform broadly with the description of the holotype. MZB lace 5573 has a large scar on the snout extending from the rostral to between the eyes, and has a largely regrown tail. The regrown section lacks transverse bands, is dark grey with two light grey dorso-lateral stripes and has irregular and relatively small scales. The venter of this specimen is slightly darker and more heavily spotted with dark grey than the holotype, particularly in the gular region. MZB lace 5575 (Fig. 3 A) has a largely regrown tail, has four instead of three large dorsal blotches, has a slightly indented enlarged femoral and precloacal scale series and has more brown pigmentation on the venter, giving an overall impression of being much darker. Colouration in life. Photographs in life of one paratype MZB 5575 show the pattern to be consistent with that retained in preservative. The iris is pale gold tending towards reddish at the centre with sparse dark brown vertical venation and extensive fine, very light brown reticulation. Comparisons. Cyrtodactylus zugi sp. nov. is most similar to the large bodied animals placed in the C. loriae group by Rösler et al. (2007). It can be readily distinguished from C. serratus by the absence of spiniform tubercles along the lateral fold and the tail, and complete absence of lateral tubercles on the tail. It can be distinguished from C. loriae by the presence of enlarged tubercles around the angle of the lower jaw and ventral to the lateral fold (absent in C. loriae) and a straight or almost straight short series of enlarged precloacal and femoral scales, as opposed to V-shaped and much longer (29–34 V 60–80). Cyrtodactylus zugi sp. nov can be distinguished from C. novaeguineae by the absence of enlarged tubercles extending across the ventral surface of the throat (illustrated in Brongersma (1934)).The recently described and geographically proximate species Cyrtodactylus irianjayaensis is most similar to C. zugi sp. nov., but has a shorter series of enlarged precloacal and femoral scales (12–21 vs 29–34), a narrower head (HW/SVL 0.173–0.204 vs 0.210–0.221), lacks mottling on the dorsum of the head and lateral surface of the body, lacks dark speckling on the venter and lacks dark brown labial barring (Rösler et al. 2007, Fig. 3). Cyrtodactylus zugi sp. nov. can be distinguished from similar-sized animals in the C. louisiadensis group (sensu Rösler et al. 2007), C. lousiadensis, C. murua, C. salomonensis, and C. tuberculatus by possessing relatively small (vs wide undivided) subcaudal scales and by the presence of enlarged tubercles below the lateral fold and under the supra-angular edge of the lower jaw. All Melanesian Cyrtodactylus not listed above have a maximum SVL of less than 110 mm, much smaller than Cyrtodactylus zugi sp. nov. The dorsal colouration of three to four dark grey bands (including the nuchal band) exhibited by C. zugi sp. nov. is also different from all of these species; C. aaroni and C. mimikanus have more than eight thin white bands bands on a chocolate brown ground colour; C. derongo has a relatively plain dorsum with small dark spots and white tubercles; C. capreoloides, C. marmoratus, C. papuensis and C. sermowaiensis all have six or more dark dorsal bands or a series of spots on a comparatively light dorsum. Cyrtodactylus zugi sp. nov. can be further distinguished from C. marmoratus and C. papuensis by the absence of a precloacal pit. Distribution and Natural History. The new species is known only from lowland tropical rainforest on Batanta Island (Fig. 4). The habitat at the type locality consisted of selectively logged forest with numerous remaining large old trees, but also with extensive regrowth. Specimens were collected at night from the 0.5–3 m above the ground on large rainforest trees. The holotype and paratype (MZB lace 5575) were both collected at separate times from the same large fig (Ficus) tree on the same night (Fig. 5). Etymology. Named in honour of George Zug from the Smithsonian Institution in recognition of his vast contributions to our knowledge of the systematics and ecology of the herpetofauna of Melanesia and Asia.Published as part of Oliver, Paul, Tjaturadi, Burhan, Krey, Keliopas & Richards, Stephen, 2008, A new species of large Cyrtodactylus (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Melanesia, pp. 59-68 in Zootaxa 1894 on pages 60-67, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18439

Two new species of Callulops (Anura: Microhylidae) from montane forests in New Guinea

Two new species of microhylid frogs assigned to the genus Callulops are described from the mountains of New Guinea. Callulops fojaensis sp. nov. is known only from mid-montane forest in the Foja Mountains of Papua Province, Indonesian New Guinea, and can be distinguished from congeners by the combination of moderate size, short limbs, slightly expanded finger and toe discs, and uniform brown dorsal and lateral colouration. Callulops mediodiscus sp. nov. is known from a single site in mid-montane forest in Southern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea, and can be distinguished from all congeners by its wide finger and toe discs, moderate size and short advertisement call. Description of these two new frog species brings the number of Callulops known to 18, of which at least nine are only known from montane regions (>1000m above sea level).Paul Oliver, Stephen Richards & Burhan Tjaturad

Litoria infrafrenata

Systematics of Litoria infrafrenata Litoria infrafrenata is a large green frog that is superficially similar to our new species and has a complicated taxonomic history. The new species is substantially smaller than L. infrafrenata but exhibits a rather poorly defined off white labial stripe, suggesting there is some potential for confusion with juvenile L. infrafrenata. Based on published descriptions or examination of specimens, all names synonymised with L. infrafrenata represent animals clearly assignable to that taxon and easily distinguished from the new species by a number of morphological characters. The types of Litoria dolichopsis (Cope, 1867), L. dolichopsis var. tenuigranulata (Boettger, 1895) and L. spengeli (Boulenger, 1912) are a minimum of 90 mm SV and often longer, substantially larger than the species described herein; furthermore the type of L. dolichopsis and one other synonym of Litoria infrafrenata (L. guttata (Macleay, 1878)), have partially­webbed (vs fully webbed) hands and a prominent off white labial stripe (Macleay 1878, Boettger 1895, Fry 1913, Loveridge 1948, Copland 1957). The males in the type series of Litoria dolichopsis var. pollicaris (Werner, 1898) have a very hard and protruding pollex rudiment, absent in the new species (Werner 1898). In addition this taxon is from New Britain where survey work has found no evidence of any Litoria similar to the new species (Richards pers. obs.). The name Litoria dolichopsis var. calcarifera (Vogt, 1912) was apparently applied erroneously to specimens from the type series of L. d. pollicaris, therefore it is regarded as a lapsus (Zweifel 1960, Günther pers. com.); in addition, as mentioned above, the specimens involved clearly represent L. infrafrenata. Finally Tyler (1968) and Günther (pers. comm.) have both examined the types of Litoria trinilensis (Ahl, 1929) and found them to possess reduced webbing between the fingers, like Litoria infrafrenata and unlike L. graminea or the new species from Utai.Published as part of Richards, Stephen J., Oliver, Paul, Dahl, Chris & Tjaturadi, Burhan, 2006, A new species of large green treefrog (Anura: Hylidae: Litoria) from northern New Guinea, pp. 57-68 in Zootaxa 1208 on page 58, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17242