Cophixalus clapporum Kraus, 2012, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Kraus, Fred
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2012
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Amphibia
Anura
Microhylidae
Cophixalus
Cophixalus clapporum

description: Cophixalus clapporum, sp. nov.
Fig. 8 C, D, 14
Holotype. BPBM 37720 (field tag FK 14753), collected by F. Kraus along Upper Muniai Stream, below Bomagai Camp, Woodlark Island, 9.1216° S, 152.7486° E, 67 m, Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea, 12 October 2010.
Paratypes (n = 31). BPBM 37718–19, 37721–25, PNGNM 24116, same data as holotype; BPBM 37726–29, same data as holotype, except collected 13 October 2010; BPBM 37731–35, 39040, PNGNM 24117–18, Thompson’s Creek, 9.15591° S, 152.7430° E, 104 m, 15 October; PNGNM 24119–20, same data as holotype, except collected 16 October 2010; BPBM 37737–38, same data as holotype, except collected 18 October 2010; BPBM 37736, below Bomagai Camp E, 9.1222° S, 152.7535° E, 38 m, 17 October; BPBM 37739, same data as BPBM 37736, except collected 18 October 2010; BPBM 40005–06, same data as holotype, except collected 11 October 2011; BPBM 40007, same data as holotype, except collected 12 October 2011; BPBM 40008–09, same data as holotype, except collected 16 October 2011.
Diagnosis. A species characterized by its unique combination of moderate size (male SV = 23.2–27.5 mm, female SV = 26.1–28.3 mm) with finger discs and toe discs of approximately same size (3rdF/4thT = 0.92–1.13); well-developed first finger bearing disc with circum-marginal groove; dorsum with several rows of well-developed warts; top of head lighter than surrounding skin; body with irregular brown markings on a lighter brown, olivebrown, or yellow-brown ground color; and call consisting of a train of fairly slow mechanical-sounding beeps.
Comparisons with other species. The combination of larger size (SV> 22 mm), finger discs subequal to or smaller than toe discs (3rdF/4thT <1.14), and first finger of normal size and bearing a disc with a circum-marginal groove distinguishes this species from all congeners except C. cupricarenus Kraus and Allison, 2009, endemic to nearby Rossel Island. Cophixalus clapporum differs from that species in particulars of color pattern and call: C. cupricarenus invariably has a copper-colored or russet triangle on the top of the head, whereas C. clapporum may have that color as a head triangle but usually the top of the head is tan or light brown; C. cupricarenus has black paravertebral, dorsolateral, and lateral stripes or series of dashes, whereas C. clapporum has brown blotches or other irregular markings but lacks stripes other than a short postocular dash that extends no further posteriorly than the tympanum; C. cupricarenus has a black canthal stripe that extends from the eye to the tip of the snout, whereas C. clapporum has no more than a brown canthal blotch that does not extend anterior to the naris; C. cupricarenus often has a white vertebral line, whereas C. clapporum never shows that pattern element; and C. cupricarenus has a call with a repetition rate of 5.0–5.2 notes/s and a dominant frequency of 3100–3140 Hz, whereas C. clapporum has a slower, lower-pitched call with a repetition rate of 1.82–2.15 notes/s and a dominant frequency of 2250–2460 Hz.
Description of holotype. An adult male with small right-lateral incision. Head moderately wide (HW/SV = 0.38), with steeply oblique, slightly concave loreal region; canthus rostralis inflated, shallowly inflated when viewed from above (Fig. 14 A); nostrils directed laterally, much closer to tip of snout than to eyes; internarial distance larger than distance from naris to eye (EN/IN = 0.85, IN/SV = 0.11, EN/SV = 0.094); snout projecting when viewed from the side (Fig. 14 B), shallowly angulate when viewed from above; eyes moderately large (EY/ SV = 0.13); eyelid approximately 60% width of interorbital distance; tympanum rather indistinct and of moderate size (TY/SV = 0.053), with a slightly raised annulus anteriorly but visible posteriorly only when skin is slightly dried. Skin minutely rugose, with five rows of enlarged pustules dorsally; ventral surfaces smooth. Short supratympanic fold present. Fingers unwebbed, bearing discs with terminal grooves; relative lengths 3>4>2>1; first finger and disc well-developed (Fig. 14 C). Finger discs approximately 2.5 times widths of penultimate phalanges (3rdF/SV = 0.056), except for the first finger disc, which is approximately 1.5 times width of penultimate phalanx. Subarticular tubercles low but distinct; metacarpal tubercles oval, well-developed, but low. Toes unwebbed, bearing discs with terminal grooves; relative lengths 4>3>5>2>1 (Fig. 14 D). Toe discs approximately same size as those of fingers (3rdF/4thT = 0.95); disc of fourth toe approximately twice width of penultimate phalanx (4thT/SV = 0.058); disc of first toe approximately 1.5 times width of penultimate phalanx. Subarticular tubercles well-developed; inner metatarsal tubercle narrow and elongate, outer lacking. Hind legs moderately long (TL/SV = 0.51).
In preservative, dorsum medium brown, heavily and vaguely marked with dark brown, including a vaguely defined suprascapular X; top of head somewhat lighter, followed posteriorly by dark backward-pointing triangle. Sides with greater extent of light ground and many dark-brown flecks and stipples. Tympanum light tan with small brown flecks; supratympanic fold and angle of jaw dark brown; face dark brown with few lighter-brown spots on upper jaw. Rear of thighs tan with large dark-brown blotches. Venter pale straw heavily flecked with brown, sparser on abdomen than on chin, throat, and under legs. Palmar and plantar surfaces dark brown. Iris black stippled with brass.
Measurements (in mm). —SV = 24.5, TL = 12.6, HW = 9.2, HL = 8.0, IN = 2.7, EN = 2.3, SN = 3.6, EY = 3.1, TY = 1.3, 3rdF = 1.36, 4thT = 1.43.
Variation. Mensural variation for the species is not large, and there are no obvious differences between the sexes except that females appear to average slightly larger than males (Table 9). There is, however, some indication that juveniles have relatively longer snouts and heads, wider tympana and heads, and larger eyes than do adults (Table 9).
In preserative, dorsa vary from light gray-brown to very dark brown; dark markings are typically small spots or irregular marks, but the contrast with the ground color varies from very little to moderate. The darker specimens are similar to the holotype in having very obscure markings; the lightest specimens appear as light-brown frogs with distinct, scattered brown spots. Ventral patterning varies from dispersed punctations to heavily flecked with brown, such that overall appearance varies from pale straw to dark brown, with most specimens having the overall appearance of venters heavily flecked with brown. Most specimens have the rear of the thighs with a highly contrasting pattern of dark-brown blotches on a pale-straw ground, but three are generally suffused with dark brown instead. The tympanum is always lighter than the surrounding ground color, the iris always black with brass or silver punctations.
Color in life. In life, BPBM 37718 was noted to be “Olive green and brown above, top of head russet brown, black behind eye but tympanum tan. Rear of thighs black with olive-green blotches. Venter charcoal gray with light-gray flecks on posterior belly and smaller gray-white punctations throughout. Iris olive brown with a narrow orange rim around the pupil. Bottoms of hands and feet black.” BPBM 37726 was noted to be: “Yellow brown above with darker brown markings, top of snout tan. Rear of thighs dark brown flecked with yellow brown. Venter light gray with dark-gray flecks on throat and silver-white punctations/flecks on abdomen. Iris black reticulated or spotted with gold.” BPBM 37719 was tan and dark brown above, with black and tan on rear of thighs, and abdomen pale-gray heavily flecked with charcoal gray; BPBM 37721 was olive and orange brown dorsally, with darker orange brown on top of head; BPBM 37722 was olive and yellow brown dorsally and tan on top of head. All animals had distinct rows of large tubercles in life (Fig. 8 C, D).
Call. Animals called at night from the forest floor or perched on leaf litter, following either wet or dry days. To the human ear, the call sounds similar to a mechanical beep; when two frogs alternate calling and each calls at a different frequency, the combined effect is similar to the sound of a European police siren.
The call is a series of well-tuned beeps or honks, with a series of six or seven harmonics (Fig. 15 C). Seven calls recorded by me include from 10–33 notes and range in length from 5.1– 16.1 s, with notes emitted at a rate of 1.82–2.15/s (Table 10). Each note is relatively brief (Fig. 15 A, C), with a mean duration of 0.220 s (range 0.195– 0.343 s) among the seven calls. The first note of each call is approximately 30–50% longer than subsequent notes. The interval between notes is only slightly longer, averaging 0.292 s among the seven calls and ranging from 0.211– 0.811 s (Table 10). Each note begins abruptly and declines smoothly during its last 200 ms or so, producing an amplitude envelope sharply truncated on the left and rounded on the right (Figs. 13 B, 15A). The dominant frequency of the calls varied within a very narrow window (Fig. 15 B), averaging 2330 Hz and ranging from 2250–2460 Hz (Table 10). Below the dominant frequency is another peak with almost as much energy (Fig. 15 C), which averages 1770 Hz and ranges from 1660–1937 Hz.
Specimen Call Temperature Number Call Note duration (s) Internote duration Repetition Dominant
series (˚C) of notes duration (s) (s) rate (notes/s) frequency (kHz) BPBM a 26.5 21 11.0 0.227 ± 0.0050 0.304 ± 0.0079 1.91 2.42 ± 0.0050 40005 (0.214–0.324) (0.271–0.412) (2.39–2.46) b “ 26 14.3 0.225 ± 0.0037 0.332 ± 0.0234 1.82 2.41 ± 0.0056 (0.210–0.309) (0.246–0.811) (2.39–2.46) BPBM a 25.2 27 13.4 0.216 ± 0.0039 0.289 ± 0.0104 2.01 2.27 ± 0.0043 40006 (0.200–0.311) (0.242–0.490) (2.25–2.32) b “ 25 12.7 0.218 ± 0.0044 0.297 ± 0.0067 1.97 2.29 ± 0.0034 (0.204–0.319) (0.259–0.377) (2.25–2.32) BPBM a 27.0 31 14.4 0.213 ± 0.0048 0.256 ± 0.0069 2.15 2.30 ± 0.0038 40007 (0.195–0.343) (0.211–0.363) (2.25–2.32) b “ 33 16.1 0.212 ± 0.0038 0.277 ± 0.0109 2.05 2.31 ± 0.0033 (0.195–0.316) (0.225–0.547) (2.25–2.35) c “ 10 5.1 0.231 ± 0.0110 0.292 ± 0.0312 1.96 2.32 ± 0.0035 (0.205–0.308) (0.223–0.534) (2.32–2.35) Etymology. The name is a genitive honorific for Eleanor Clapp, who first brought my attention to this frog, and George Clapp, who graciously hosted my visits to Woodlark Island.
Range. Known only from Woodlark Island, Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea (Fig. 2), where it is likely endemic, although it may occupy some of the adjacent islets. Animals were heard calling at several sites around the center of the island, and the species undoubtedly occurs throughout Woodlark.
Ecological notes. This species inhabits mature lowland rainforest, with canopy heights at approximately 25– 35 m. Animals were always found on or near the ground in lowland primary rainforest, most in a gully adjacent to a small, slow-moving stream. Several frogs were found sheltering during daytime under rocks immediately adjacent to a slow-moving lowland stream.
The smallest mature male is 23.2 mm SV; two immature males are 16.4 and 17.6 mm. The smallest mature female is 26.1 mm; four immature females range from 16.9–23.9 mm.
Syntopic microhylids include Barygenys sp. nov., the following species of Cophixalus, Copiula sp. nov., Genyophryne thomsoni, Hylophorbus myopicus, Mantophryne sp. nov., and Oreophryne sp. nov.
description: Published as part of Kraus, Fred, 2012, Papuan frogs of the genus Cophixalus (Anura: Microhylidae): new synonyms, new species, and a dichotomous key, pp. 1-36 in Zootaxa 3559 on pages 23-27, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.282919