Dr Fred Kraus from the University of Michigan has described three new species of frogs in the genus Oreophryne from Papua New Guinea.
Oreophryne cameroni from Keki Lodge, Adelbert Mts. Image credit: Fred Kraus.
The three newly discovered species, named Oreophryne cameroni, O. parkopanorum and O. gagneorum, are minute frogs with total body lengths of around 20 mm.
The subfamily to which the new species belong is largely restricted to New Guinea and its satellite islands. Of the constituent genera, Oreophryne is presently one of the largest within the Papuan Region.
Two of the species – O. cameroni and O. parkopanorum – occur in two isolated mountain ranges along the northern coast of Papua New Guinea.
Oreophryne parkopanorum from Mt. Sapau, Torricelli Mts. Image credit: Fred Kraus.
The third, O. gagneorum, is from Rossel Island in the very southeasternmost part of the country.
The scientific name of O. cameroni honors Dr H. Don Cameron, professor emeritus of classical studies at University of Michigan and colleague of Dr Kraus.
The species name of O. parkopanorum is a genetive plural honorific for the people of Parkop Village, whose unflagging help and friendliness made my expedition to the Torricelli Mts. successful and most pleasant.
Oreophryne gagneorum from Rossel Island. Image credit: Fred Kraus.
O. gagneorum is named to honor Betsy and Wayne Gagné, dedicated and inspiring conservationists of Pacific island biotas and among the few western researchers to visit Mt. Rossel.
“Although the description of the new species treated herein now brings to seven the number of Oreophryne species reported from the north-coast region of New Guinea, the presence from these areas of additional specimens of uncertain identity suggests that additional species likely await description,” explained Dr Kraus, who described the new species in the open-access journal ZooKeys.
“I have at least a dozen more new Oreophryne species remaining to be described from this region, and large portions of this terrane system remain unsurveyed.”
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Bibliographic information: Kraus F. 2013. Three new species of Oreophryne (Anura, Microhylidae) from Papua New Guinea. ZooKeys 333: 75; doi: 10.3897/zookeys.333.5795
