Choerophryne rhenaurum

Choerophryne rhenaurum is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea and is only known from its type locality, Moiyokabip in the upper Ok Tedi catchment in the Western Province.[1][2]

Choerophryne rhenaurum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Microhylidae
Genus: Choerophryne
Species:
C. rhenaurum
Binomial name
Choerophryne rhenaurum
(Menzies, 1999)
Choerophryne rhenaurum is only known from the upper Ok Tedi catchment in the Western Province, Papua New Guinea.
Synonyms[2]

Albericus rhenaurum Menzies, 1999[3]

Etymology

This species was originally described in the genus Albericus,[3] named for Alberich, the dwarf in Scandinavian mythology and Richard Wagner's opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen.[3][4] Menzies named the Albericus species he described after Alberich's companions in the mythodology, although rhenaurum is Latinized form of Rheingold.[3]

Description

The two specimens making the type series measure about 15 mm (0.59 in) in snout–urostyle length.[3] Their sex was originally unspecified but later examination has shown them to be males.[5] Choerophryne rhenaurum is similar to Choerophryne tuberculus but has a broader snout and advertisement call that has much longer pulse length (470–510 ms versus 250–350 ms in C. tuberculus). The call could be characterized as a "splutter".[3]

Habitat and conservation

Choerophryne siegfriedi is known from rainforest.[1] The altitude of the type locality is variously given as 1,200 and 1,520 m (3,940 and 4,990 ft) above sea level.[1][3] Development is presumably direct;[1] i.e., there is no free-living larval stage.[6]

This species was quite common at the type locality. Threats to it are unknown. It is not known to occur in any protected area.[1]

References
  1. Richards, S. & Menzies, J. (2004). "Choerophryne rhenaurum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2004: e.T57667A11671139. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T57667A11671139.en. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  2. Frost, Darrel R. (2017). "Choerophryne rhenaurum (Menzies, 1999)". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  3. Menzies, J. I. (1999). "A study of Albericus (Anura: Microhylidae) of New Guinea". Australian Journal of Zoology. 47 (4): 327–360. doi:10.1071/ZO99003.
  4. Burton, Thomas C. & Zweifel, Richard G. (1995). "A new genus of genyophrynine microhylid frogs from New Guinea". American Museum Novitates. 3129: 1–7. hdl:2246/3574.
  5. Kraus, F. & Allison, A. (2005). "A colorful new species of Albericus (Anura: Microhylidae) from southeastern Papua New Guinea" (PDF). Pacific Science. 59: 43–53. doi:10.1353/psc.2005.0008. hdl:10125/24159. S2CID 58911686.
  6. Vitt, Laurie J. & Caldwell, Janalee P. (2014). Herpetology: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles (4th ed.). Academic Press. p. 166.
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