Description
Medium sized frog: maximum snout-to-vent length is 46 mm for males and 64 mm for females. Has warty skin, moderately long hind limbs, and completely unwebbed toes. Internarial distance shorter than distance from naris to eye. Males have no nuptial pads. Most commonly plain brown, sometimes has broad, light mid-dorsal band or two dorsolateral light bands. All have several rows of interrupted, raised glandular folds on the dorsal surface. Resembles Lechriodus melanopyga (Menzies 1975; Zweifel 1969).

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Indonesia, Papua New Guinea

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

Found in low elevations throughout northern New Guinea, from eastern Indonesian islands to north coast lowlands of New Guinea to Milne Bay, d'Entrecasteaux and Trobriand Islands. Likes forests and gardens with extensive shrubbery and long grass (Menzies 1975; Zweifel 1969).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
Call: Exposed or slightly sheltered, males climb onto stumps and logs about half a meter above ground or remain on the forest floor to call, which is related to territorial activity. The call is loud and distinctive, a series of three to ten or more notes in rapid succession like a "qik-qik-qik." There is a pause for about one to eight seconds between calls. Each note has a somewhat harsh initial segment followed by many closely spaced harmonics, ending with a fundamental at about 1000 to 1500 cycles per second. Usually they start calling in the late afternoon, before sunset (Menzies 1975; Zweifel 1969).

Eggs: Unlike other members of the genus, small brown eggs are not laid in water. Instead, eggs are relatively large, unpigmented, and few in quantity, laid on land and hidden in damp places. Metamorphosis happens inside the egg so that young frogs instead of tadpoles emerge (Menzies 1975).

References

Menzies, J. I. (1975). Handbook of Common New Guinea Frogs. Wau Ecology Institute, Papua New Guinea.

Zweifel, R. G. (1969). ''Frogs of the genus Platymantis (Ranidae) in New Guinea, with the description of a new species.'' American Museum Novitates, 2374, 1-19.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2003 Cornufer papuensis <http://amphibiaweb.org/species/4909> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Feb 28, 2021.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2021. <http://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 28 Feb 2021.

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