Two New Species of Narrow-Mouthed Frogs Discovered in Western New Guinea

Dr Rainer Günther, a German herpetologist at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, and his colleagues from Australia and Indonesia have described two new species of the microhylid frog genus Cophixalus from the Raja Ampat Islands off the western tip of New Guinea. The scientists have documented their discovery in a paper published in the journal Zoosystematics and Evolution.

Cophixalus rajampatensis. Image credit: Günther R et al.

The newly discovered frogs are characterized by small and slender bodies, measuring less than 0.9 inches (2.3 cm) in length.

They are members of the narrow-mouthed frog genus Cophixalus that occurs mainly in New Guinea and northern Australia.

Dr Günther and co-authors decided to name these new frogs Cophixalus rajampatensis and C. salawatiensis.Their description brings the total number of Cophixalus frogs known from New Guinea and surrounding islands to 46, and the total number from western New Guinea (Papua and West Papua Provinces including the Raja Ampat Islands) to 10.

Cophixalus salawatiensis. Image credit: Günther R et al.

The specimens of Cophixalus rajampatensis and C. salawatiensis were collected from lowland rainforests. There the scientists noted that after heavy rains at night the males perched on leaves of bushes and produced sounds, characteristic for each species.

“Curious enough, when dissected one of the male specimens, assigned toCophixalus salawatiensis, revealed a female reproductive system with well-developed eggs,” the researchers said.

“Simultaneously, neither its sound-producing organs, nor its calls differed in any way from the rest of the observed males from the same species. Therefore, it is to be considered a hermaphrodite,” they said.

Reference:

Günther R et al. 2015. Two new species of the genus Cophixalus from the Raja Ampat Islands west of New Guinea (Amphibia, Anura, Microhylidae).Zoosystematics and Evolution 91 (2): 199-213; doi: 10.3897/zse.91.5411

Credit: Sci-news