Austrochaperina adamantina

Austrochaperina adamantina is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to New Guinea and occurs in the Torricelli and Bewani Mountains in the West Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea.[3][4] The specific name adamantina is Latin for "like a diamond" and refers to Jared Diamond, credited as the collector of the holotype and "great many other valuable herpetological specimens from Papua New Guinea".[2]

Austrochaperina adamantina
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Microhylidae
Genus: Austrochaperina
Species:
A. adamantina
Binomial name
Austrochaperina adamantina

Description edit

Austrochaperina adamantina was described based on a single specimen, which is an adult female measuring 28 mm (1.1 in) in snout–vent length. The head is narrow. The snout is truncate as seen from above and slightly rounded in profile. The eyes are relatively large. The tympanic ring is barely visible; a weak supratympanic fold is present. The fingers and the toes have well-developed terminal discs but lack webbing. Skin is smooth apart from slight wartiness on the lower back. The dorsum is tan with indistinct darker mottling. There is a well-defined paler area on the side of face, from the upper lip from just below nostril to the tympanic fold. The lower surfaces are all pale with faint darker mottling that is slightly darker on the throat and the hind legs. The thighs are posteriorly pale with darker mottling.[2]

Habitat and conservation edit

Austrochaperina adamantina has been recorded from elevations between 340–1,550 m (1,120–5,090 ft) above sea level (the upper limit is imprecise and could be lower).[1][2][4] Its ecological requirements are unknown but it is presumably a forest inhabitant that breeds by direct development (i.e, there is no free-living larval stage[5]), as its congeners.[1] Threats to it are unknown.[1]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2020). "Austrochaperina adamantina". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T57684A150631730. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T57684A150631730.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d Zweifel, R. G. (2000). "Partition of the Australopapuan microhylid frog genus Sphenophryne with descriptions of new species". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 253: 1–130. doi:10.1206/0003-0090(2000)253<0001:POTAMF>2.0.CO;2. hdl:2246/1600. S2CID 85621508.
  3. ^ a b Frost, Darrel R. (2019). "Austrochaperina adamantina Zweifel, 2000". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  4. ^ a b Kraus, Fred & Allison, Allen (2006). "Range extensions for reptiles and amphibians along the northern versant of Papua New Guinea" (PDF). Herpetological Review. 37 (3): 364–368.
  5. ^ Vitt, Laurie J. & Caldwell, Janalee P. (2014). Herpetology: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles (4th ed.). Academic Press. p. 166.