Description

Oreophryne notata is easily distinguished from all congeners with the following combination of characters: small size (<25 mm SVL), unwebbed toes, well developed digital disks, fifth toe longer than the third, and a pale inverted U-shaped marking anterior to the orbit (with bifurcated ends reaching the lip). The snout is truncated and slightly pointed when viewed dorsally, and vertically rounded in lateral view. The canthus rostralis is distinct and rounded. Eyes have horizontal pupils and red-gold irises. Tympana are small and indistinct. Both fingers and toes lack webbing. The relative lengths of the fingers are 3>2>4>1, with the first finger one-half the length of the second. All fingers have well-developed terminal disks. The relative lengths of the toes are: 4>5>3>2>1, with the fifth toe only slightly longer than the third. The clavicle is that of a typical Oreophryne, with the procoracoid reaching the scapula as a narrow cartilaginous band.

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Papua New Guinea

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

Oreophryne notata has been reported from two localities about 325 km apart in the highlands of Papua New Guinea: Ialibu, in Southern Highlands Province, and Tabibul, Western Province. This species has only recently been described, so the full extent of its range is not known. The two reported localities are at 1920 m and 550 m in elevation, respectively. The type locality, Ialibu, is gently rolling country, with many small, low-gradient streams and rocky rivers. Much of the area is now grassland, though unlogged forest was within 2.5 km of Ialibu at the time of the holotype collection (Zweifel 2003).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
Oreophryne notata calls from perches in forested areas, on leaves about a meter above the ground. The call is considered to be a series of “peeping” notes. At an ambient temperature of 15.4ºC, a call lasting 5.3 sec produced 21 notes, mostly unpulsed, with a duration of 0.10-0.13 sec each at a rate of 3.9 notes/sec. The dominant frequency was 3500-3600 Hz (Zweifel, 2003)[3539].

Possible reasons for amphibian decline

General habitat alteration and loss

References

Zweifel, R.G. (2003). ''A new species of Microhylid frog, Genus Oreophryne, from Papua New Guinea.'' American Museum Novitates, 3419, 1-8.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2007 Oreophryne notata <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/6403> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Dec 26, 2024.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 26 Dec 2024.

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