''Choerophryne variegata'' is a species of

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

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 elsew ...

to West Papua,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, and is only known with certainty from its type locality,

Digul River The Digul River () is a major river in southern Papua province, Indonesia, on the island of New Guinea. It is the fourth longest river in New Guinea after Sepik River, Mamberamo River and Fly River. With a total length of and has a drainage b ...

. It is assumed that most records from elsewhere refer to other, possibly undescribed species. As the species is only known from one specimen from its vaguely stated type locality, its ecology is essentially unknown, although it is presumed to be a rainforest inhabitant. No other specimen has been collected anywhere near the type locality. Despite all this, vernacular name common rainforest frog has been coined for it.

Names

It is known as lk ɨkin the Kalam language of

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 ...

, a name that is also sometimes applied to immature ''

Cophixalus parkeri ''Cophixalus parkeri'' is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea where it occurs in the central mountainous region between Chimbu and Morobe Provinces. The specific name ''parkeri'' presumably honours H ...

'', which has overlapping morphology and habitats with ''Choerophryne variegata''.Bulmer, RNH (1975)
Kalam Classification Of Reptiles And Fishes
''Journal of the Polynesian Society'' 84(3): 267–308. '' Cophixalus shellyi'', ''

Choerophryne darlingtoni ''Choerophryne darlingtoni'' is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea and found in the New Guinea Highlands. The specific name ''darlingtoni'' honors P. Jackson Darlington Jr., an American evolutionary ...

'', and ''

Oxydactyla brevicrus ''Sphenophryne brevicrus'' is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to West Papua, Indonesia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. Names It is known as kabanm in the Kalam language of Papu ...

'' also tend to be identified by Kalam speakers as ''lk'' if calling from low vegetation, but as ''gwnm'' (usually applied to '' Cophixalus riparius'' and '' Xenorhina rostrata'') if found in daytime hiding spots.

Description

The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

is an adult female with half-developed ova, measuring in snout–urostyle length. The snout is rounded truncate in dorsal view but projecting in profile. The arms are relatively short while the legs are relatively long. There is some basal webbing between the toes 4 and 5. The finger and toes disks are large and truncate.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q28055898 variegata Endemic fauna of Indonesia Endemic fauna of New Guinea Amphibians of Western New Guinea Taxa named by Pieter Nicolaas van Kampen Amphibians described in 1923 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot