''Papurana volkerjane'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

true frog True frogs is the common name for the frog family Ranidae. They have the widest distribution of any frog family. They are abundant throughout most of the world, occurring on all continents except Antarctica. The true frogs are present in North A ...

s, family Ranidae. 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 ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

and is known from its type locality, the eastern slopes of the Wondiwoi Mountains, from the

Fakfak Mountains Fakfak Mountains ( id, Pegunungan Fakfak) are located on Bomberai Peninsula to the north of Fakfak in West Papua province, Indonesia. Geography Topography includes the following top elevations in Fakfak Mountains: *''Baham'' at 613 m (coordin ...

(both in 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 from the Bewani and

Torricelli Mountains The Torricelli Mountains are a mountain range in Sandaun Province, north-western Papua New Guinea. The highest peak in the range is Mount Sulen at 1650 meters. The Bewani Mountains are located to the west, and the Prince Alexander Mountains ar ...

s in the

West Sepik Province Sandaun Province (formerly West Sepik Province) is the northwesternmost mainland province of Papua New Guinea. It covers an area of 35,920 km2 (13868 m2) and has a population of 248,411 (2011 census). The capital is Vanimo. In July 1998 the 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 ...

. Rainer Günther named the species after his son Volker and daughter-in-law Jane.

Description

''Papurana volkerjane'' is a relatively large species, with adult males measuring and adult females in snout–vent length. The overall appearance is robust. It is morphologically similar to '' Papurana aurata'' but has distinctive small glandular ridges across dorsal surface of thighs, as well as a solid white longitudinal stripe, surrounded by a blackish area, on the posterior thigh. The species shows strong

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

in colour, at least among individuals in mating condition. Males are dorsally yellow-greyish to golden-yellow, whereas females are brownish or reddish-brown. In males, the flanks have similar colouration as the dorsum, whereas females have lighter lower flanks. Sub- canthal and post-ocular strip is black and continuous. Throat is darkly marbled in some males but only weakly marbled with grey in most individuals. Belly is typically white but some males have intense yellow bellies. The male advertisement call is complex and last 3–9 seconds. Calls typically start with a mixture of softer and harsher squawks; the harsh squawking notes become quicker and louder during the course of the call. At the end of "complete" calls, there is a shorter or longer series of twitters.

Habitat and conservation

''Papurana volkerjane'' occurs in closed-canopy primary rainforest in association with slow-flowing 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 ...

in West Papua, in Papua New Guinea. Adults can be found perched on the leaves in low vegetation, above the ground.

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 have been found in streams and from a roadside ditch.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q28051175 volkerjane Endemic fauna of New Guinea Amphibians of Western New Guinea Amphibians of Papua New Guinea Frogs of Asia Amphibians described in 2003