Description of six new species of Xenorhina Peters, 1863 from southern Papua New Guinea (Amphibia, Anura, Microhylidae)

Abstract

We describe six new species of the microhylid frog genus Xenorhina from the southern slopes of Papua New Guinea’s central cordillera and adjacent lowlands, based on a combination of morphological (including osteology) and bioacoustic features. All of the new species are fossorial or terrestrial inhabitants of tropical rainforest habitats and belong to a group of Xenorhina having a single, enlarged odontoid spike on each vomeropalatine bone. Advertisement calls and habitat preferences are described for each species, one of which is amongst the smallest hitherto members of the genus. Description of these six species brings the total number of Xenorhina known to 40 and emphasises the importance of the high-rainfall belt that extends along the southern flanks of New Guinea’s central cordillera as a hotspot of Melanesian amphibian diversity.

A new large Oreophryne species from the mountains of Papua Province, Indonesian New Guinea (Amphibia, Anura, Microhylidae)

“…Given the remoteness of the type locality (Mack and Alonso 2000), which was accessed by helicopter, the likelihood of returning to this location and obtaining additional material of O. chlorops is extremely low. Descriptions of new microhylid frogs based on limited samples, including singletons, is common (Allison and Kraus 2000, Günther et al 2016, Günther and Richards 2021 and we believe that the unique specimen of O. chlorops is sufficiently distinct from all congeners to warrant formal recognition.…”

Figure 5 from: Richards SJ, Oliver PM (2024) Two new species of torrent-breeding treefrogs (Anura: Pelodryadidae: Litoria) from hill forests on the southern edge of New Guinea’s Central Cordillera. Vertebrate Zoology 74: 417-433. https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.74.e123251

“…The frog fauna of this region has been intensively surveyed over the last 25 years (Richards 2002;. This work has documented an exceptionally rich frog fauna comprising over 110 species, including many that have only recently been described (Günther and Richards 2016, 2018, 2020, 2021a, 2021bRichards and Günther 2019;. Currently seven named torrent-breeding Litoria species are recognised from the Kikori River basin.…”

Figure 2 from: Richards SJ, Oliver PM (2024) Two new species of torrent-breeding treefrogs (Anura: Pelodryadidae: Litoria) from hill forests on the southern edge of New Guinea’s Central Cordillera. Vertebrate Zoology 74: 417-433. https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.74.e123251

“…The frog fauna of this region has been intensively surveyed over the last 25 years (Richards 2002;. This work has documented an exceptionally rich frog fauna comprising over 110 species, including many that have only recently been described (Günther and Richards 2016, 2018, 2020, 2021a, 2021bRichards and Günther 2019;. Currently seven named torrent-breeding Litoria species are recognised from the Kikori River basin.…”