Choerophryne brunhildae

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Choerophryne brunhildae
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Microhylidae
Genus: Choerophryne
Species:
C. brunhildae
Binomial name
Choerophryne brunhildae
(Menzies  [ fr ], 1999)
Albericus brunhildae map-fr.svg
Synonyms [2]

Albericus brunhildaeMenzies, 1999 [3]

Choerophryne brunhildae is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. [1] [2] It is endemic to Papua New Guinea and is known from the Adelbert Range, the Bewani Mountains, and the Hunstein Mountains. [1] [4]

Contents

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] [5] Menzies named the species he described after Alberich's companions in the mythodology. The specific name brunhildae is derived from Brunhild. [3]

Description

Nine unsexed individuals in the type series measure 16.7–20.1 mm (0.66–0.79 in) in snout–urostyle length. [3] Examination of six of these revealed one female and five males. For snout–vent length, their size range is 17.8–21.1 mm (0.70–0.83 in). [6] Choerophryne brunhildae shares the general appearance of other former Albericus species: brown dorsum with lighter or darker irregular mottling, warty dorsal skin, and short and road head with blunt snout and relatively large eyes. Distinctive features of this species are conspicuous lumbar ocelli and ventrum that is densely stippled dark and light all over. One specimen was slightly greenish on the head. [3]

The male advertisement call has been described as a "rubbery squeak". Note length is about 500 ms, and pulse rate varies within a note. [3]

Habitat and conservation

Choerophryne brunhildae lives in forest habitats and is sometimes seen in rural gardens. [1] It has been recorded at elevations between 1,000–1,920 m (3,280–6,300 ft) above sea level. [4] It can be locally common. No major threats to it are known as it seems to tolerate some habitat modification and plenty of suitable habitat remains. [1]

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>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.

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.

Choerophryne exclamitans is a species of frogs in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea and only known from two locations on the slopes of Mount Shungol in the Morobe Province. It might be more widely distributed.

Choerophryne fafniri is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea and is only known from the north-western slopes of Mount Giluwe and south-east of Mount Hagen in the Southern Highlands Province.

Choerophryne gudrunae is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea and is only known from its type locality near Kowat in the Adelbert Range, Madang Province.

Choerophryne gunnari is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea and is known from the area of its type locality in the Central Province, and from the western slopes of Mount Obree, also in the Central Province.

Choerophryne laurini is a species of frogs in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to Western New Guinea and known from the Wondiwoi Mountains, at the base of the Wandammen Peninsula. Common name Wandammen albericus frog has been suggested for it.

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.

Choerophryne sanguinopicta is a species of frogs in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to southeastern Papua New Guinea and only known from the vicinity of its type locality, the northern slope of Mt. Simpson in the Owen Stanley Range, Milne Bay Province, although it is expected to occur more widely. The specific name sanguinopictus, from Latin for sanguis ("blood") and pictus ("painted") refers to the distinctive red blotching and punctations characteristic for this species.

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.

Choerophryne swanhildae is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea and is known from the Hagen and Kubor ranges.

Choerophryne tubercula is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea and known from scattered locations in the New Guinea Highlands. However, the species is likely to occur also in the Indonesian part of New Guinea. Common name warty rainforest ground frog has been coined for it.

Choerophryne valkuriarum is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to the eastern New Guinea in Papua New Guinea and is known from near Wau in the Ekuti Dividing Range south to Myola in the Owen Stanley Range. The nominal species might consist of more than one distinct species.

Choerophryne variegata is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to West Papua, Indonesia, and is only known with certainty from its type locality, Digul River. It is assumed that most records from elsewhere refer to other, possibly undescribed species. As the species is only known from one specimen from its vaguely stated type locality, its ecology is essentially unknown, although it is presumed to be a rainforest inhabitant. No other specimen has been collected anywhere near the type locality. Despite all this, vernacular name common rainforest frog has been coined for it.

Callulops marmoratus is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea and only known from its type locality, Crater Mountain Wildlife Management Area in the southwestern Chimbu Province, on the southern escarpment of the New Guinea Highlands.

Choerophryne allisoni is a tiny species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea and only known from its type locality, Mount Sisa in the Southern Highlands Province. The specific name allisoni honours Allen Allison, an American herpetologist. Common name Allison's mountain frog has been coined for this species.

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.

Aphantophryne parkeri is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to the north coast of New Guinea and only known from Matapan and the Bewani Mountains in the West Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea, and from Sentani in the Papua Province, Western New Guinea (Indonesia). This species was formerly included in the genus Oreophryne, but was in 2017 moved to Aphantophryne based on molecular data. The specific name parkeri honours Hampton Wildman Parker, an English zoologist and herpetologist. Common name Parker's cross frog has been coined for it.

Mount Shungol

Mount Shungol is an ultra-prominent summit to the west of Lae, in Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. It is in the Herzog Mountain Range and has an elevation of 2,752 metres (9,029 ft). The Buang people claim ownership to the top of Mount Shungol.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2020). "Choerophryne brunhildae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T57661A152547768. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T57661A152547768.en . Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 Frost, Darrel R. (2017). "Choerophryne brunhildae (Menzies, 1999)". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 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. 1 2 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. Burton, Thomas C.; Zweifel, Richard George (1995). "A new genus of genyophrynine microhylid frogs from New Guinea". American Museum Novitates (3129): 1–7. hdl:2246/3574.
  6. 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.