Callulops doriae Boulenger 1888
Creators: name: Kraus, Fred
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Amphibia
Anura
Microhylidae
Callulops
Callulops doriae

description: Callulops doriae Boulenger
Figs. 1A, B, 2A, B
Callulops doriae Boulenger, 1888: 345.
Type locality: “ Milne Gulf.” [Milne Bay, Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea]
Manthophryne neuhausii Vogt, 1911: 425.
Hylophorbus neuhausii van Kampen, 1923: 144.
Phrynomantis neuhausii Noble, 1926: 20 [by implication].
Asterophrys doriae Parker, 1934: 65.
Xenorhina doriae Zweifel, 1972: 53.
Phrynomantis doriae Burton, 1986: 415.
Callulops doriae Dubois, 1988: 3.
Material examined for rediagnosis. Papua New Guinea: Milne Bay Province: Milne Gulf [= Milne Bay], H.O. Forbes (BMNH 1947.2.10.99, holotype); S slope Mt. Pekopekowana, 10.2851º S, 150.1822º E, 330 m a.s.l., F. Kraus, 24 May 2004 (BPBM 20141); Normanby Island, 10.0072º S, 150.9872º E, 52 m a.s.l., F. Kraus, 13 April 2011 (BPBM 38830–32), 5 March 2011 (BPBM 38833); Normanby Island, 10.0777º S, 150.9896º E, 555 m a.s.l., F. Kraus, 29 March 2012 (BPBM 41938); Normanby Island, 10.0574º S, 151.0709º E, 550 m a.s.l., F. Kraus, 13 September 2013 (UMMZ 242226); Normanby Island, 10.0579º S, 151.0703º E, 556 m a.s.l., F. Kraus, 13 September 2013 (UMMZ 242227); Normanby Island, 9.9856º S, 150.9783º E, 550 m a.s.l., F. Francisco, 18 March 2015 (UMMZ 243962).
Diagnosis. Callulops doriae is distinguished from all other members of the genus by its unique combination of large size (adult male SV = 68.6–77.7 mm, adult female SV = 74.2–83.0 mm); narrowly expanded finger and toe discs (3rdF/SV = 0.027 –0.029, 4thT/SV = 0.027 –0.036); all fingers lacking circum-marginal grooves, but toes with well-developed circum-marginal grooves; short leg (TL/SV = 0.38–0.42); pustulose dorsum; EN less than IN (EN/SV = 0.055 –0.061, IN/SV = 0.062 –0.070, EN/IN = 0.80–0.96); slightly swollen loreal region; small eye (EY/SN = 0.57–0.87); basal subarticular tubercle of 4th toe absent or poorly developed; dorsum and limbs mustard yellow densely spotted with dark-brown or black, but ocelli absent; groin, hidden surfaces of legs and feet, and tops of thighs blotched with yellow, under thighs and shanks with a light-brown ground color; venter yellow or yellow with black chin and throat; and a short (1.58– 1.62 s) two-note call with relatively long notes (0.445 – 0.682 s) and a slow repetition rate (0.86–0.88 notes/s).
Comparisons with other species. Callulops doriae is readily distinguished from all other species of the genus by its yellow dorsum spotted with brown or black and by the large yellow or orange blotches on the hidden surfaces of the hindlimbs.
Description. This description is limited to material from ten adult specimens from Milne Bay Province, including the holotype (Table 1, Appendix II). Adult males vary in SV from 68.6–77.7 mm, adult females from 74.2–83.0 mm. Head wide (HW/SV mean = 0.35 ± 0.0056, range = 0.32–0.37), wider than long (HL/HW mean = 0.76 ± 0.0142, range = 0.71–0.83), with slightly swollen loreal region, slightly inflated immediately anterior to eye, concave posterior to naris; upper lip inflated; canthus absent; nostrils horizontally compressed, directed laterally, closer to tip of snout than to eyes; internarial distance more than distance from naris to eye (EN/IN mean = 0.89 ± 0.0182, range = 0.80–0.96; IN/SV mean = 0.66 ± 0.0009, range = 0.062 –0.070; EN/SV mean = 0.58 ± 0.0007, range = 0.055 –0.061); snout slightly rounded to truncate when viewed from side, slightly rounded or truncate and appearing rather pointed when viewed from above; eyes small (EY/SV mean = 0.061 ± 0.0014, range = 0.057 –0.069); eyelid approximately half width of interorbital distance; tympanum distinct, flush with skin anteriorly and ventrally, approximately same diameter as eye or slightly more (TY/EY mean = 0.99 ± 0.0226, range = 0.93–1.11; TY/SV mean = 0.061 ± 0.0019, range = 0.052 –0.069), annulus overlain or bordered posteriorly and dorsally by heavy supratympanic fold that extends from behind eye to posterior of tympanum, where it bends sharply to end in front of forearm insertion at approximately level of jaw; supratympanic fold a clearly demarcated ridge ventrally but smoothly continuous with dorsal skin. Dorsum and sides slightly rugose to obviously pustulose and heavily glandular, clearly pustulose in life (Fig. 1A) though not necessarily in preservative (Fig. 2A); ventral surfaces smooth anteriorly, weakly granular on abdomen. Fingers unwebbed, thick, all bearing discs lacking terminal grooves, although weak terminal indentations (apparently due to tissue drying) may sometimes be present on the occasional finger; relative lengths 3>4≈2≈1. Finger discs slightly wider than penultimate phalanges (3rdF/SV mean = 0.028 ± 0.0003, range = 0.027 –0.029). Subarticular tubercles low, large, better developed on F1 and F2; inner metacarpal tubercle low, large, oval; outer larger in area but shallower, deeply bifurcated anteriorly. Toes unwebbed, all bearing discs but with terminal grooves poorly developed or absent, most evident on T2–T4; relative lengths 4>3>5>2>1. Toe discs barely wider than penultimate phalanges (4thT/SV mean = 0.032 ± 0.0009, range = 0.027 –0.036), usually larger than those of fingers (3rdF/4thT mean = 0.88 ± 0.0308, range = 0.80–1.09). Subarticular tubercles low but obvious, rounded, proximal-most tubercle on fourth toe smaller than others; inner metatarsal tubercle a large, prominent oval; outer only a vague, slightly whitened skin thickening. Legs short (TL/SV mean = 0.40 ± 0.0043, range = 0.38–0.42). Adult mass varies from 45.3–68.5 g in life.
.
There appear to be few compelling morphometric differences between the sexes, so far as can be determined given the small sample of females (Table 1). Juveniles have relatively longer legs, longer and wider snouts and heads, larger eyes and digital discs, and smaller tympana than adults (Table 1).
In preservative, dorsum mustard yellow (Fig. 2A), paler laterally, and darker on limbs and snout, with numerous vaguely defined dark-brown or black spots scattered over dorsum and limbs, some of these anastomozing mid-dorsally, others with paler, but vaguely demarcated, centers. Groin, rear of thighs, and hidden surfaces of shanks and feet dark brown with large, pale-yellow blotches. Venter and under thighs pale yellow (Fig. 2B); chin, throat, and chest suffused with pale brown and containing small pale-yellow spots. Face, snout, and lower jaw brown with few pale-yellow flecks; tympanum paler brown, often with a few yellow flecks. Palmar surfaces dark brown; subarticular tubercles and discs amelanic, appearing pale gray or yellowish. Plantar surfaces dark brown with few, scattered pale-yellow flecks; subarticular tubercles and discs amelanic, appearing pale gray or yellowish. Juveniles (BPBM 41937, UMMZ 245247) are black or dark gray with white punctations scattered throughout.
In life, adults are similar in appearance to freshly preserved specimens, but with greater contrast between yellow ground color and dark-brown or black markings and with minute blue-white flecks on forelimbs and yellow-white spots on sides and hindlimbs more obvious (Fig. 1A). Face and top of snout dark gray brown. Groin and hidden surfaces of legs and feet black with large custard-yellow or cream spots. Venter dirty white, heavily dusted or flecked with gray or brown from chin to chest. Iris brown, with or without silver specks. The two juveniles (SV = 18.1–18.9 mm, 0.55–0.85 g) were black above and dark gray below, with numerous white spots on all surfaces (Fig. 1B). There were no yellow spots in the groin or hidden surfaces of the hindlimbs.
Call. The call is a simple, deep-voiced double croak delivered at long intervals. I was able to record two calls from a single individual. Calls comprised two notes emitted at a rate of 0.86–0.88 notes/s; calls ranged from 1.58– 1.62 s in duration, with a mean of 1.60 s (Table 2, Fig. 3A, C). Notes had a mean duration of 0.563 s (range 0.445 – 0.682 s); the first note of each pair was longer (0.662 – 0.682 s) than the second (0.445 – 0.461 s). The interval between notes had a mean duration of 0.479 s and a range from 0.477 – 0.481 s. Notes were highly pulsed, appeared to have a rounded amplitude envelope, but clipping of the notes due to over-amplification does not make that certain (Fig. 3A); notes lacked frequency modulation (Fig. 3C). The dominant frequency of calls did not vary greatly (Fig. 3B), with a mean across the four notes of 391 Hz and a range from 382–417 Hz.
Etymology. The species was named by Boulenger (1888) for the Marquis Giacomo Doria for his contributions to the knowledge of Papuasian herpetology.
Range. Known from the southern portion of the Papuan Peninsula in the vicinity of Milne Bay and from Normanby Island, Milne Bay Province, PNG (Fig. 4). The species is known to range from sea level to 555 m a.s.l.
Ecological notes. Animals occupy burrows in the forest floor and under large boulders in lowland and foothill rainforest. They may be active on the forest floor at night, and they call during that time either from burrows or on the forest floor, often sequestered in the flanks of tree buttresses. They produce white, sticky secretions from their dorsal glands that undoubtedly serve an anti-predator function.
description: Published as part of Kraus, Fred, 2019, A revision of Callulops doriae (Anura: Microhylidae), with descriptions of four new species, pp. 1-28 in Zootaxa 4612 (1) on pages 2-8, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4612.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/3233535