Zootaxa, a New Species of Xenobatrachus (Anura, Microhylidae)

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Zootaxa, a New Species of Xenobatrachus (Anura, Microhylidae)

Zootaxa 1268: 39–57 (2006) ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition) www.mapress.com/zootaxa/ ZOOTAXA 1268 Copyright © 2006 Magnolia Press ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition) A new species of Xenobatrachus (Anura, Microhylidae) with a striking resemblance to Xenorhina bouwensi RAINER GÜNTHER & RONNY KNOP Museum für Naturkunde der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstr. 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany. Abstract The micohylid frog Xenobatrachus lanthanites sp. nov. is described on the basis of recently collected material from the mountains of Yapen Island in Cenderawasih Bay, Papua, Province of Indonesia. With a mean snout-urostyle length of 21.9 mm, the new species is among the smallest of its genus. In most morphological, anatomical, ecological and behavioural details it is very similar to Xenorhina bouwensi (de Witte) from the mainland of north-western New Guinea. Data for the latter are also given. Biochemical studies did not furnish unequivocal results concerning the taxonomic status of the genus Xenobatrachus. Key words: Amphibia, Microhylidae, Xenobatrachus, Xenorhina, New Species, mt 12S rRNA, Yapen Island, Papua, Indonesia Introduction The genus Xenorhina was erected by Peters in 1863 to accommodate a single species, namely Bombinator oxycephalus Schlegel, 1858. He regarded Xenorhina as similar to Engystoma and in an intermediate position between Brachymerus and Rhinophrynus. Engystoma and Brachymerus are today synonyms of microhylid genera (Parker 1934), whereas Rhinophrynus belongs to the Rhinophrynidae, which is distantly related to the microhylids according to recent phylogenetic interpretations (Duellman 2003). In 1878, Peters & Doria introduced the genus name Xenobatrachus, also for a single species, X. ophiodon. These authors noted resemblances in external morphology of their new genus to hylids and myobatrachids and in anatomical traits to Calohyla (Kaloula) and Microhyla. Interestingly, they did not mention any special relationship to Xenorhina. The most conspicuous trait of their new genus was the possession of two large, toothlike spikes on each vomero-palatine. Boulenger (1882) in his standard work on anuran taxonomy Accepted by S. Carranza: 13 Jun 2006; published: 20 Jul. 2006 39.

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