''Choerophryne allisoni'' is a tiny species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...

in the family

Microhylidae The Microhylidae, commonly known as narrow-mouthed frogs, are a geographically widespread family of frogs. The 683 species are in 63 genera and 11 subfamilies, which is the largest number of genera of any frog family. Evolution A molecular phylo ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

and only known from its type locality, Mount Sisa in the

Southern Highlands Province Southern Highlands is a province in Papua New Guinea. Its provincial capital is the town of Mendi. According to Papua New Guinea's national 2011 census, the total population of Southern Highlands (after the separation of Hela Province) is 515,511 ...

. The specific name ''allisoni'' honours , an American herpetologist. Common name Allison's mountain frog has been coined for this species.

Description

The

type series In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes t ...

consists of two adult males that measure in snout–vent length. The snout is projecting and moderately elongated. The tympanum is indistinct and poorly defined. The first finger is reduced, the other fingers have tips that are at most slightly expanded. The first toe is partly fused with the second. The toe tips are rounded or expanded into small discs. No digital webbing is present. The dorsum is dark brown with various darker or paler patterns; a pale mid-vertebral stripe is present. The male advertisement call is a single, short " bleat" consisting of 5–6 notes. The call interval is about 5–7 seconds. The dominant frequency is 4220–4960 Hz.

Habitat and conservation

The type series was collected from the transition zone between ''

Nothofagus ''Nothofagus'', also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 43 species of trees and shrubs native to the Southern Hemisphere in southern South America (Chile, Argentina) and Australasia (east and southeast Australia, New Zealand, New Gui ...

''-dominated vegetation with a rather open understorey and a denser, higher-altitude moss forest at above sea level. The specimens were found calling from within leaf litter on the forest floor. Development is presumably direct (i.e., there is no free-living larval stage), as in other species in the genus. Threats to this species are unknown. It is not known to occur in any protected areas.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2699042 allisoni Amphibians of New Guinea Amphibians of Papua New Guinea Endemic fauna of New Guinea Endemic fauna of Papua New Guinea Amphibians described in 2003 Taxa named by Stephen J. Richards Taxonomy articles created by Polbot