Sphenophryne thomsoni

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Sphenophryne thomsoni
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Microhylidae
Genus: Sphenophryne
Species:
S. thomsoni
Binomial name
Sphenophryne thomsoni
(Boulenger, 1890)
Genyophryne thomsoni map-fr.svg
Synonyms [2]
  • Genyophryne thomsoni Boulenger, 1890

Sphenophryne thomsoni, sometimes known as Thomson's toothless frog, is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. [2] It is endemic to Papua New Guinea and occurs in the southeastern peninsular New Guinea, Louisiade Archipelago, d'Entrecasteaux Islands, and Woodlark Island. [1] [2] It was formerly in its own monotypic genus Genyophryne. [3] The specific name thomsoni honours Basil Thomson, a British intelligence officer, police officer, prison governor, colonial administrator, and writer. [4]

Contents

Description

Sphenophryne thomsoni can grow to 38 mm (1.5 in) in snout–vent length. It is an extremely broad-bodied frog, with the rather flattened head that is as wide or nearly as wide as the body. The fingers are stubby and have no discs. The first toe is extremely short; the other toes are longer and bear small, grooved discs. The snout is rounded. No true teeth are present. The eyes are small. The tympanum is barely visible. Weak supratympanic folds are present. Another pair of more or less distinct skin folds starts near the eyes, converge in the scapular region, and then diverge and fade out. Preserved specimens are dorsally gray to light tan. A dark mark above the posterior edge of the tympanum is usually present, sometimes continuing anteriorly as an ill-defined postocular streak. The dorsal skin folds are accented by dark pigment; symmetrically placed small dark spots are present elsewhere on the dorsum. The ventral surfaces are pale and immaculate. [5]

Use

Sphenophryne thomsoni is used on Tagula Island for magic: it is believed to provide fertility to land if planted. [1]

Habitat and conservation

Sphenophryne thomsoni occurs on forest floor in primary tropical rainforests at elevations below 500 m (1,600 ft). [1] Some specimens were found calling at night during light rain. [5] Development is direct (i.e, there is no free-living larval stage [6] ). It is a very abundant species that is not believed to face significant threats—its use on Tagula Island for magic is not occurring at levels that would pose a threat. This species is present in the Kamiali Wildlife Management Area. [1]

Related Research Articles

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

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<i>Copiula derongo</i> Species of frog

Copiula derongo is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to New Guinea and found in both Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. The specific name derongo refers to its type locality, the village of Derongo in the Western Province. Based on molecular evidence, it was transferred from Austrochaperina to Copiula in 2016.

<i>Copiula guttata</i> Species of frog

Copiula guttata is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea and known from around the head of the Gulf of Papua in the Gulf and Chimbu Provinces. The specific name is the Latin adjective guttata that means "spotted" and refers to the dorsal colour pattern of this species. Based on molecular evidence, it was transferred from Austrochaperina to Copiula in 2016.

<i>Copiula rivularis</i> Species of frog

Copiula rivularis is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea and known from near the Indonesian border east to the Morobe Province; it is expected to occur in the Papua province of Indonesia. The specific name comes from the Latin adjective pertaining to small brooks or streams and refers to the habitat of this species. Based on molecular evidence, it was transferred from Austrochaperina to Copiula in 2016.

<i>Barygenys atra</i> Species of frog

Barygenys atra is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to eastern New Guinea and is known from the Morobe and Northern Provinces, Papua New Guinea. Common name Gunther's Papua frog has been proposed for it.

Barygenys exsul is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea. It is known from Rossel and Sudest Islands in the Louisiade Archipelago, east of New Guinea. It is uncertain whether the specimens from Sudest really are conspecific with this species. Barygenys apodasta and Barygenys resima were mixed with this species prior to their description in 2013.

<i>Callulops boettgeri</i> Species of frog

Callulops boettgeri, also known as Boettger's Callulops frog, is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to Halmahera in the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. It is only known from the holotype collected from Galela in 1894. The genus-level placement of this little known frog has changed many times, and it is still unclear whether it should be placed in some other genus.

<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.

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

Cophixalus tagulensis is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea and only known from the Tagula Island in the Louisiade Archipelago, east of New Guinea. It is only known from the type series of three specimens collected in 1956.

<i>Aphantophryne nana</i> Species of amphibian

Aphantophryne nana is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to the Philippines and is known with certainty only from the island of Camiguin. It is unclear whether similar frogs from northeast Mindanao are referable to this species. It was described as Oreophryne nana, but based on molecular data it was moved to Aphantophryne in 2017. Common names Camiguin cross frog, Camiguin narrow-mouthed frog, and volcano cross frog have been coined for the species.

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.

Copiula alpestris is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea and known from the Western Highlands, Chimbu, and Eastern Highlands Provinces at elevations of 1,800–2,800 m (5,900–9,200 ft) above sea level. The specific name is a Latin adjective meaning "living in high mountains", in reference to its relatively high-altitude habitats. Based on molecular evidence, the species was transferred from Oxydactyla to Copiula in 2016.

Xenorhina subcrocea is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea and is known from the New Guinean north coast, including coastal ranges between Vanimo and Lae. Common name Lae fanged frog has been coined for it.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2020). "Sphenophryne thomsoni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T57819A152550637. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T57819A152550637.en . Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Frost, Darrel R. (2019). "Sphenophryne thomsoni (Boulenger, 1890)". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  3. ↑ Rivera, Julio A; Kraus, Fred; Allison, Allen & Butler, Marguerite A. (2017). "Molecular phylogenetics and dating of the problematic New Guinea microhylid frogs (Amphibia: Anura) reveals elevated speciation rates and need for taxonomic reclassification". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 112: 1–11. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2017.04.008 . PMID   28412536.
  4. ↑ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael & Grayson, Michael (2013). The Eponym Dictionary of Amphibians. Pelagic Publishing. p. 214. ISBN   978-1-907807-42-8.
  5. 1 2 Zweifel, Richard G. (1971). "Relationships and distribution of Genyophryne thomsoni, a microhylid frog of New Guinea". American Museum Novitates (2469): 1–13. hdl:2246/2677.
  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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