Asterophrys

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Asterophrys
Ceratophrys turpicola - 1700-1880 - Print - Iconographia Zoologica - Special Collections University of Amsterdam - UBA01 IZ11500101 1.jpg
Asterophrys turpicola
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Microhylidae
Subfamily: Asterophryinae
Genus: Asterophrys
Tschudi, 1838
Type species
Ceratophrys turpicola
Schlegel, 1837
Diversity
See text
Synonyms
  • MetamagnusiaGünther, 2009
  • PseudocallulopsGünther, 2009

Asterophrys is a genus of microhylid frogs found in New Guinea. Their common name is New Guinea bush frogs, although this name may also specifically refer to Asterophrys turpicola . [1]

Asterophrys are moderate to large-sized microhylid frogs, with the larger Asterophrys turpicola measuring up to 65 mm (2.6 in) in snout–vent length. A distinctive feature of these frogs is their extremely broad head, almost half of snout–vent length. While both are New Guinean species, A. leucopus is more a mountain species than A. turpicola. The latter is known for its aggressiveness (it may even bite), whereas A. leucopus is more docile. [2]

Species

The following species are recognised in the genus Asterophrys: [1]

Binomial Name and AuthorCommon Name
Asterophrys eurydactyla (Zweifel, 1972)Danowaria Callulops frog
Asterophrys foja (Günther, Richards, and Tjaturadi, 2016)
Asterophrys leucopus Richards, Johnston & Burton, 1994
Asterophrys marani (Günther, 2009)
Asterophrys pullifer (Günther, 2006)
Asterophrys slateri Loveridge, 1955Slater's Callulops frog
Asterophrys turpicola (Schlegel, 1837)New Guinea bush frog

A third, undescribed species may exist in Papua, western New Guinea. [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>Barygenys</i> Genus of amphibians

Barygenys is a genus of microhylid frogs. They are endemic to New Guinea and the adjacent Louisiade Archipelago. So far only known from Papua New Guinea, the range of the genus is expected to reach Papua province in the Indonesian part of New Guinea. Despite not being known from Papua, common name Papua frogs has been suggested for them.

<i>Aphantophryne</i> Genus of amphibians

Aphantophryne is a genus of microhylid frogs found in New Guinea and in Mindanao, the Philippines. Originally described by Fry in 1917, Richard G. Zweifel considered in 1956 Aphantophryne synonymous to Cophixalus. The genus was resurrected in 1989 to house two new species in addition to the type species, A. pansa. A molecular study on the subfamily Asterophryinae in 2017 revealed that two species originally included in the genus Oreophryne were more closely related to Aphantophryne than to other Oreophryne, and were consequently moved to this genus. The study also revealed a number of undescribed species.

<i>Austrochaperina</i> Genus of amphibians

Austrochaperina is a genus of microhylid frogs found on New Guinea, New Britain and Australia.

<i>Choerophryne</i> Genus of amphibians

Choerophryne is a genus of microhylid frogs, commonly known as Torricelli mountain frogs, endemic to New Guinea. These frogs are small, with the body length measured from snout to vent between 11 and 23 mm.

<i>Choerophryne brunhildae</i> Species of frog

Choerophryne brunhildae is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea and is known from the Adelbert Range, the Bewani Mountains, and the Hunstein Mountains.

Choerophryne darlingtoni is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea and found in the New Guinea Highlands. The specific name darlingtoni honors P. Jackson Darlington Jr., an American evolutionary biologist and zoogeographer. Common name Darlington's rainforest frog has been coined for it.

<i>Choerophryne siegfriedi</i> Species of frog

Choerophryne siegfriedi is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea and is only known from its type locality, Mount Elimbari in the Simbu Province.

<i>Aphantophryne minuta</i> Species of frog

Aphantophryne minuta is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea and is known from its type locality near Myola Guest House in the Owen Stanley Range, Northern Province, from another locality in the same province, Mount Tafa; only a single specimen is known from each locality. The specific name minuta refers to the very small size of this species. Common name Myola Guinea frog has been coined for it.

Asterophrys leucopus is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to northwestern Papua New Guinea where it is known from three locations: Stolle Mountain in the Sandaun Province—its type locality, and Hunstein Mountains in the East Sepik Province and the Bewani Mountains in the West Sepik Province.

<i>Asterophrys turpicola</i> Species of frog

Asterophrys turpicola is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is widespread in New Guinea and found in both West Papua (Indonesia) and Papua New Guinea, although it appears to be absent from the eastern half of Papua New Guinea. It also occurs on the island of Yapen, off the north-western coast of New Guinea. The species is known for its aggressive behaviour: it can attack and bite viciously.

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. 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".

Austrochaperina basipalmata is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to the mountain ranges of northern New Guinea and is found between Tawarin River in Papua, Western New Guinea (Indonesia) and Torricelli Mountains in Papua New Guinea.

Austrochaperina blumi is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to New Guinea and known from the northern slopes of the New Guinean Central Range in Western New Guinea (Indonesia), and from the Bewani, Torricelli, and Hunstein Mountains in Papua New Guinea. The specific name blumi honors J. Paul Blum, the herpetologist who collected the type series. Common name Kosarek land frog has been proposed for it.

Cophixalus balbus is a species of frogs in the family Microhylidae. Molecular data suggest that it might belong to the genus Oreophryne. It is known from the vicinity of its type locality in Yapen island, Papua Province, Indonesia, as well as from the Hunstein Mountains and Bewani and Torricelli Mountains in Papua New Guinea.

<i>Cophixalus parkeri</i> Species of frog

Cophixalus parkeri is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea where it occurs in the central mountainous region between Chimbu and Morobe Provinces. The specific name parkeri presumably honours Hampton Wildman Parker, an English zoologist and herpetologist to whose perusal Arthur Loveridge sent the holotype. Common name Papua rainforest frog has been coined for it.

Cophixalus riparius is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea and occurs in the New Guinea Highlands in Madang, Southern Highlands, and Western Highlands provinces southeastward to the Morobe Province. The specific name riparius refers to the creek-side habitat from which many specimens in the type series were collected. Common name Wilhelm rainforest frog has been coined for this species.

<i>Cophixalus shellyi</i> Species of frog

Cophixalus shellyi is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea and occurs in the New Guinea Highlands as well as in the Adelbert Range and on the Huon Peninsula. The specific name shellyi honors Father Otto Schellenberger ("Shelly"), an American missionary and former professor in mathematics who collected the type series.

Cophixalus tetzlaffi is a species of frogs in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to West Papua, Indonesia, where it is only known from near its type locality, Fakfak Mountains near the town of Fakfak.

Cophixalus verecundus is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to New Guinea in Papua New Guinea, where it is only known around Mt. Bellamy in Owen Stanley Mountains though it may more widely distributed.

Oreophryne biroi is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to New Guinea and occurs on the north coast from Madang Province in Papua New Guinea to the Cyclops Mountains in Papua province, Western New Guinea (Indonesia). The specific name biroi honours Lajos Bíró, a Hungarian zoologist and ethnographer who collected the holotype. Common name New Guinea cross frog has been coined for it.

References

  1. 1 2 Frost, Darrel R. (2014). "Asterophrys Tschudi, 1838". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  2. 1 2 Richards, S. J.; G. R. Johnston & T. C. Burton (1994). "A remarkable new asterophryine microhylid frog from the mountains of New Guinea". Memoirs of the Queensland Museum. 37: 281–286.