''Cophixalus riparius'' 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 ...

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 occurs in the New Guinea Highlands in Madang, Southern Highlands, and Western Highlands provinces southeastward to the

Morobe Province Morobe Province is a province on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea. The provincial capital and largest city is Lae. The province covers 33,705 km2, with a population of 674,810 (2011 census), and since the division of Southern Highlands P ...

. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''riparius'' refers to the creek-side habitat from which many specimens in 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 the ...

were collected. Common name Wilhelm rainforest frog has been coined for this species.

Names

It is known as gwnm in the Kalam language of

, a name that is also applied to ''

Xenorhina rostrata ''Xenorhina rostrata'' is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is found in West Papua in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montane fo ...

''.Bulmer, RNH (1975)
Kalam Classification Of Reptiles And Fishes
. ''Journal of the Polynesian Society'' 84(3): 267–308.

Description

Adult males grow to at least and adult females to in snout–vent length; males appear to reach maturity by they are . The snout is short and bluntly rounded. The tympanum is only barely visible at its lower edge. The supratympanic fold is weak. The fingers and toes bear well-developed discs. Preserved specimens are dorsally purplish brown, with an irregular pattern of dark markings. These markings may sometimes form rugged dorsolateral lines or join to form a network, but only rarely reducing the lighter background to isolated spots.

Habitat and conservation

''Cophixalus riparius'' is found in montane rainforests among boulders and grass near streams at elevations of

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

. Development is direct (i.e., there is no free-living larval stage). This species is common and adaptable, probably able to withstand a degree of habitat degradation. It is not facing significant threats. It might be present in the Mount Kaindi Wildlife Management Area.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2242381 riparius Endemic fauna of New Guinea Endemic fauna of Papua New Guinea Amphibians of Papua New Guinea Amphibians described in 1962 Taxa named by Richard G. Zweifel Taxonomy articles created by Polbot