''Nyctimystes kubori'' 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 subfamily

Pelodryadinae Pelodryadinae, also known as Australian treefrogs (although not all members are arboreal), is a subfamily of frogs found in the region of Australia and New Guinea, and have also been introduced to New Caledonia, Guam, New Zealand, and Vanuatu. ...

of the family

Hylidae Hylidae is a wide-ranging family of frogs commonly referred to as "tree frogs and their allies". However, the hylids include a diversity of frog species, many of which do not live in trees, but are terrestrial or semiaquatic. Taxonomy and s ...

. 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 is widespread in the

New Guinea Highlands The New Guinea Highlands, also known as the Central Range or Central Cordillera, is a long chain of mountain ranges on the island of New Guinea, including the island's tallest peak, Puncak Jaya , the highest mountain in Oceania. The range is home ...

between 141°E and 147°E and in the mountains of the

Huon Peninsula Huon Peninsula is a large rugged peninsula on the island of New Guinea in Morobe Province, eastern Papua New Guinea. It is named after French explorer Jean-Michel Huon de Kermadec. The peninsula is dominated by the steep Saruwaged and Finister ...

. The specific name ''kubori'' refers to its type locality in the Kubor Mountains. Common name sandy big-eyed treefrog has been coined for this species.

Description

Three adult females 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 ...

measure in snout–vent length. Males can reach in snout–vent length. The snout is relatively short and blunt. The tympanum is distinct; supratympanic fold is present. The outer fingers are one-half webbed, whereas the toes are almost fully webbed. Skin is dorsally minutely roughened but ventrally coarsely granular. Dorsal coloration ranges from light yellowish brown to gray and dark brown, with light darker gray or brown spotting or heavy mottling. The inner three toes and the associated webbing can be brightly colored with orange, or sometimes a peach tinge.

Habitat and conservation

''Nyctimystes kubori'' occurs in along both larger streams in tropical rainforest 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 ...

. Breeding probably occurs in torrential streams where the

tadpole A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found i ...

s develop. ''Nyctimystes kubori'' can be locally common. It can occur along both open and forested streams and tolerates human habitat disturbance. There are no significant threats to this species. In the Upper Kaironk Valley of

Madang Province Madang is a province of Papua New Guinea. The province is on the northern coast of mainland Papua New Guinea and has many of the country's highest peaks, active volcanoes and its biggest mix of languages. The capital is the town of Madang. D ...

, Papua New Guinea, it is found in water and in

Cordyline ''Cordyline'' is a genus of about 15 species of woody monocotyledonous flowering plants in family Asparagaceae, subfamily Lomandroideae. The subfamily has previously been treated as a separate family Laxmanniaceae, or Lomandraceae. Other authors ...

, ''

Ficus dammaropsis ''Ficus dammaropsis'', called ''kapiak'' in Tok Pisin, is a tropical fig tree with huge pleated leaves across and up to 90 cm (3 feet) in length. It is native to the highlands and highlands fringe of New Guinea. It generally grows at altitudes ...

'', ''

Homalanthus ''Homalanthus'' is a plant genus of the family Euphorbiaceae first described as a genus in 1824.Jussieu, Adrien Henri Laurent de. 1824. De Euphorbiacearum Generibus Medicisque earumdem viribus tentamen, tabulis aeneis 18 illustratum 50 It is the ...

'',

Piperaceae The Piperaceae (), also known as the pepper family, are a large family of flowering plants. The group contains roughly 3,600 currently accepted species in 5 genera. The vast majority of species can be found within the two main genera: ''Piper'' ( ...

, and other shrubs.Bulmer, Ralph N.H. and Michael Tyler. 1968
Karam classification of frogs
''Journal of the Polynesian Society'' 77(4): 621–639.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3013326 kubori Endemic fauna of Papua New Guinea Amphibians of Papua New Guinea Amphibians described in 1958 Taxa named by Richard G. Zweifel Taxonomy articles created by Polbot