AMERICAN MUSEUM Novttates PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY CENTRAL PARK WEST AT 79TH STREET, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10024 Number 2954, 20 pp., 14 figs., 3 tables October 3, 1989 New Species of Microhylid Frogs from the Owen Stanley Mountains of Papua New Guinea and Resurrection of the Genus Aphantophryne RICHARD G. ZWEIFEL1 AND FRED PARKER2 ABSTRACT Three new species of genyophrynine frogs are other features is characterized by the possession described from southeastern New Guinea: Aphan- ofseven rather than eight presacral vertebrae. The tophryne minuta, A. sabini, and Cophixalus vere- new species ofCophixalus is without obvious close cundus. Two of these, one possibly the smallest relationships to other New Guinean or Australian species of microhylid, are assigned to the resur- species of the genus. rected genus Aphantophryne Fry, which among INTRODUCTION The Owen Stanley Mountains form the but like most ofNew Guinea, the Owen Stan- backbone of southeastern New Guinea, with ley Mountains are inadequately known from peaks rising to 4000 m within 80 km of the a herpetological standpoint. This is true in sea. The variety of habitats implied by such particular ofsecretive, cryptic species offrogs a range in elevation in a tropical region is such as those that are the subject of this pa- realized in seasonal, relatively and foothills per. with savanna vegetation, rainforested mon- In August 1987 the authors and Mr. Lau- tane slopes, and grassland above tree line. rence Penny spent 5 days at the Myola Guest Some of the earliest publications on the her- House located at 2080 m elevation on the petology of Papua New Guinea dealt with northern drainage ofthe mountains on a line collections from this region (e.g., Boulenger, between Port Moresby and Popondetta. Un- 1897, 1898), and revealed a diverse fauna, der conditions that evidently were somewhat I Curator, Department of Herpetology, American Museum of Natural History. 2 Kirwan, Queensland, Australia. Copyright © American Museum of Natural History 1989 ISSN 0003-0082 / Price $2.60 2 AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES NO. 2954 dryer than usual, we collected only nine field, Mr. Peter Lambley for the loan of species of frogs, but these included the three UPNG specimens, and Mr. James Menzies new species described here. Description of for numerous courtesies, not the least ofwhich the new forms has necessitated a reconsider- was suggesting that we include Myola in our ation of the status of the genus Aphanto- itinerary. Technical assistance of Norma phryne Fry 1917, currently referred to the Feinberg (radiographs), Carol Townsend synonymy of Cophixalus. (clearing and staining), and Joan Whelan (SEM photographs) is gratefully acknowl- edged. Frances W. Zweifel contributed her METHODS artistic talents to figures 2-5 and 12. Drs. Measurements used in generating ratios and Robert F. Inger and Linda Trueb read a late calculating regressions are: body length, from draft of the manuscript. Their suggestions snout to vent (SV); length of tibia, from heel clarify and improve the presentation, and we to outer side of flexed knee (TL); length of appreciate their efforts. Mr. Karol M. Kiso- foot, distance between proximal edge ofinner kau, Secretary, Papua New Guinea Depart- metatarsal elevation and tip offourth toe (FT); ment of Environment and Conservation, length of hand, distance between proximal kindly provided export permits for our col- edge ofinner metacarpal elevation and tip of lection. Fieldwork in Papua New Guinea was third finger (HD); distance from anterior edge made possible by a grant from the Sabin Con- (corner) ofeye opening to center ofnaris (EN); servation Fund. internarial distance, between centers of ex- ternal nares (IN); head width, at jaw articu- lation (HW); diameter of orbit, measured The Genus Aphantophryne between anterior and posterior edges of eye The genus Aphantophryne has had an un- opening (EY). The tips ofthe digits were mea- settled taxonomic history. Fry (1917) de- sured at a right angle to the digital axis with scribed the new genus and species A. pansa the tip of the digit held against a flat surface. based on specimens from an elevation of3700 Recordings of frog calls were made with a m on Mt. Scratchley in the Owen Stanley Sony TC- 150 cassette recorder modified to Range. When he revised the Microhylidae, permit manual gain control and using a TEAC Parker (1934) lacked specimens of A. pansa ME- 120 Electrec condenser microphone. Test and relied on Fry's thorough description. The tones from a TEAC TO-122A test tone os- morphological features Parker used to distin- cillator provided frequency control. Audio- guish Aphantophryne from other spheno- spectrographic analyses were done with a Kay phrynine (= genyophrynine) genera were the Elemetrics Corporation Digital Sona-Graph absence of clavicles and procoracoids and model no. 7800. presence ofonly a vestigial sternum. The last character in particular differentiated Aphan- tophryne from Cophixalus. Loveridge (1948) ACKNOWLEDGMENTS confused a species of asterophryine micro- Specimens used in this research are de- hylid with A. pansa and synonymizedAphan- posited in the American Museum ofNatural tophryne with Asterophrys to accommodate History, New York (AMNH), Australian this confusion. Museum, Sydney (AMS), Bishop Museum, With new material available, Zweifel (1956) Honolulu, (BPBM), California Academy of demonstrated that A. pansa did, in fact, pos- Sciences, San Francisco (CAS), Field Mu- sess a moderately well-developed sternum, seum of Natural History, Chicago (FMNH), and thus did not differ from Cophixalus in Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard the ways critical to Parker's diagnosis. Zwei- University, Cambridge (MCZ), South Aus- fel noted that pansa lacked digital disks (a tralian Museum, Adelaide (SAMA), Univer- character brought out in Fry's original de- sity of Kansas Museum of Natural History scription), and also differed from Cophixalus (KU), and the University of Papua New in its more squat, toadlike body form, but he Guinea, Port Moresby (UPNG). We thank thought it inadvisable to reestablish a mono- Mr. Laurence Penny for his assistance in the typic genus on these grounds alone. Hence, 1989 ZWEIFEL AND PARKER: MICROHYLID FROGS 3 he referred Aphantophryne to the synonymy lack clavicles and procoracoids but possess of Cophixalus. digital disks (Menzies and Tyler, 1977). The discovery of a new, montane species CONTENT: Aphantophryne pansa Fry and that was referable to Cophixalus but which two new species described herein, A. sabini lacked expanded digital tips led Zweifel and and A. minuta. Allison (1982) to reexamine the status of DISTRIBUTION: Mountains of eastern Pa- Aphantophryne. The new species appeared to pua New Guinea, from Mt. Amungwiwa be more closely related to Cophixalus other southwest of Wau, Morobe Province, south- than pansa, and these authors found no new eastward at least to Myola Guest House, justification for segregating pansa in a res- Northern Province, northeast ofPort Mores- urrected, monotypic genus. by (fig. 1). Our collections made in 1987 require re- DISCUSSION: The presence of seven presa- opening the question of the status ofAphan- cral vertebrae noted in Aphantophryne is de- tophryne. Not only did we find two new cidedly unusual among genyophrynine mi- species that resemble pansa in external mor- crohylids and appears to be unique to this phology, but a trenchant skeletal character genus as a typical condition. Combining previously overlooked in pansa proved to be counts made on cleared-and-stained speci- common to the three species. With evidence mens and on radiographs, we find seven ver- now in hand ofa monophyletic group ofthree tebrae in all of 11 A. pansa, 17 A. sabini, and species, we propose to resurrect the genus 1 A. minuta. Aphantophryne and to describe the new We examined cleared-and-stained speci- species. mens and radiographs of 25 species (some undescribed) ofAustralian and New Guinean Cophixalus, 1 15 specimens in all, and found Aphantophryne Fry, 1917 only seven deviations from the normal count Aphantophryne Fry, 1917: 172 (type species by of eight presacrals. The only specimen of C. designation, A. pansa Fry). van Kampen, 1923. crepitans Zweifel has vertebrae 1 and 2 fused Parker, 1934. (diapophyses present on the first vertebra) Asterophrys: Loveridge, 1948: 417 (Aphanto- followed by five free presacrals, giving effec- phryne considered a junior synonym ofAstero- tively six presacrals.3 One of 45 C. ornatus phrys). (Fry) specimens has vertebrae 1 and 2 fused Cophixalus: Zweifel, 1956: 41 (Aphantophryne (diapophyses present) and six additional pre- considered a synonym of Cophixalus). Zweifel sacrals. Another ornatus has asymmetrical and Allison, 1982. sacral diapophyses, that ofthe ninth vertebra DIAGNOSIS: A genus of genyophrynine expanded on the left, and the tenth on the (Burton, 1986; Zweifel, 1972, as Spheno- right. A specimen ofC. tagulensis Zweifel has phryninae) microhylid frogs that differs from seven presacrals. Apparently this resulted other genera of Genyophryninae in having from an abnormal fusion of vertebrae five seven rather than eight presacral vertebrae. and six, as the fifth vertebra bears paired di- Additional distinctive characteristics include apophyses on one side. One of eight C. ver- short hind legs, digits with rounded tips lack- rucosus (Boulenger) has seven normal-look- ing flattening or terminal grooves (fig. 10; see ing presacrals, the atlas without diapophyses. also Green and Simon, 1986: fig. 2), and ab- One ofsix C. darlingtoni has vertebrae 1 and sence ofclavicles and procoracoid cartilages. 2 fused (diapophyses present). One of five Species of Cophixalus, a genus which also specimens ofa local sample ofthe variegatus lacks the clavicles and procoracoids, show a species group has the second and third ver- wide range in leg length and expansion of tebrae fused. Five other specimens of "var- digital tips, but very few have hind legs rel- iegatus" have the normal complement ofeight atively as short as those of Aphantophryne presacrals. (maximum TL/SV < 0.37), and even those with the least development of digital disks 3Walker (1973: fig.