Eisspeedway

Choerophryne

Choerophryne
Choerophryne murrita
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Microhylidae
Subfamily: Asterophryinae
Genus: Choerophryne
van Kampen, 1914
Species

37 (see text)

Synonyms[1]

Choerophryne is a genus of microhylid frogs, commonly known as Torricelli mountain frogs, endemic to New Guinea.[1] These frogs are small, with the body length measured from snout to vent between 11 and 23 mm.[2]

Taxonomy and systematics

The distinction between Choerophryne and the former genus Albericus was based solely on the orientation of the alary processes of the premaxillae, giving the former its distinctive snout. In 2013 a new Choerophryne species was described with an orientation intermediate between the two genera, suggesting Albericus is likely a junior synonym of Choerophryne.[2] Formal synonymisation of the two genera was suggested by Peloso and colleagues in 2016 based on molecular evidence.[3]

Etymology

The genus name of the junior synonym Albericus is the Latin form of Alberich, the shape-shifting dwarf in the epic poem Nibelungenlied.[4] Several species derive also their specific names from Nibelungenlied, e.g. C. siegfriedi from Siegfried and C. fafniri from Fafnir.[5]

Species

Amphibian Species of the World assigns 37 species to Choerophryne, including the species previously assigned to the genus Albericus:[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Frost, Darrel R. (2019). "Choerophryne Van Kampen, 1914". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  2. ^ a b Kraus, F. (2013). "A new species of Choerophryne (Anura: Microhylidae) from Papua New Guinea, with remarks on the taxonomic status of Albericus". Zoosystematics and Evolution. 89 (2): 283–291. doi:10.1002/zoos.201300014.
  3. ^ Peloso, Pedro L.V.; Frost, Darrel R.; Richards, Stephen J.; Rodrigues, Miguel T.; Donnellan, Stephen; Matsui, Masafumi; Raxworthy, Cristopher J.; Biju, S.D.; Lemmon, Emily Moriarty; Lemmon, Alan R. & Wheeler, Ward C. (April 2016). "The impact of anchored phylogenomics and taxon sampling on phylogenetic inference in narrow-mouthed frogs (Anura, Microhylidae)". Cladistics. 32 (2): 113–140. doi:10.1111/cla.12118. S2CID 84925667.
  4. ^ Burton, Thomas C. & Zweifel, Richard George (1995). "A new genus of genyophrynine microhylid frogs from New Guinea". American Museum Novitates (3129): 1–7. hdl:2246/3574.
  5. ^ Menzies, J. I. (1999). "A study of Albericus (Anura: Microhylidae) of New Guinea". Australian Journal of Zoology. 47 (4): 327–360. doi:10.1071/ZO99003.