''Mantophryne axanthogaster'' 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 Sudest Island, a part of

Louisiade Archipelago The Louisiade Archipelago is a string of ten larger volcanic islands frequently fringed by coral reefs, and 90 smaller coral islands in Papua New Guinea. It is located 200 km southeast of New Guinea, stretching over more than and spread ...

in the

Milne Bay Province Milne Bay is a province of Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Alotau. The province covers 14,345 km² of land and 252,990 km² of sea, within the province there are more than 600 islands, about 160 of which are inhabited. The province has a ...

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 ...

Etymology

The specific name ''axanthogaster'' is derived from Greek words meaning "without yellow belly", which distinguishes it from its close relative '' M. louisiadensis'' with which it was formerly included.

Description

Adult males measure and adult females in snout–vent length. The head is wider than it is long. The snout is rounded. The tympanum is distinct only anteriorly. The finger tips bear discs; the fingers are unwebbed. The toe discs are larger than the finger ones; the toes have rudimentary webbing. Dorsal skin has faint, scattered dermal pustules; the flanks as well as the belly are smooth. The dorsum (back) is brown, spotted with dark brown and venter (belly) is light gray, mottled with dark gray. The male advertisement call is a series of loud, barking notes.

Habitat and conservation

''Mantophryne axanthogaster'' occurs 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 ...

, ranging from primary lowland rainforest

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud c ...

. It seems to be more common near streams. Males call from exposed sites on the ground, often near small piles of leaf litter. Calling takes usually place at night, but may occasionally occur on rainy days too. ''Mantophryne axanthogaster'' was found to be abundant. As of late 2020, it has not been assessed for the

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3286649 axanthogaster Amphibians of Papua New Guinea Endemic fauna of Papua New Guinea Amphibians described in 2009 Taxa named by Allen Allison Taxa named by Edward Frederick Kraus