''Austrochaperina adamantina'' is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...

in the family

Microhylidae The Microhylidae, commonly known as narrow-mouthed frogs, are a geographically widespread family of frogs. The 683 species are in 63 genera and 11 subfamilies, which is the largest number of genera of any frog family. Evolution A molecular phylo ...

. 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 else ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

and occurs in the Torricelli and

Bewani Mountains The Bewani Mountains form a mountain range in northwestern Papua New Guinea. Together with the Torricelli Mountains and Prince Alexander Mountains it forms the North Coastal Range of Papua New Guinea.

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 ...

. The specific name ''adamantina'' is Latin for "like a diamond" and refers to

Jared Diamond Jared Mason Diamond (born September 10, 1937) is an American geographer, historian, ornithologist, and author best known for his popular science books '' The Third Chimpanzee'' (1991); ''Guns, Germs, and Steel'' (1997, awarded a Pulitzer Priz ...

, credited as the collector of the

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of sever ...

and "great many other valuable herpetological specimens from Papua New Guinea".

Description

''Austrochaperina adamantina'' was described based on a single specimen, which is an adult female measuring in snout–vent length. The head is narrow. The snout is truncate as seen from above and slightly rounded in profile. The eyes are relatively large. The tympanic ring is barely visible; a weak supratympanic fold is present. The fingers and the toes have well-developed terminal discs but lack webbing. Skin is smooth apart from slight wartiness on the lower back. The dorsum is tan with indistinct darker mottling. There is a well-defined paler area on the side of face, from the upper lip from just below nostril to the tympanic fold. The lower surfaces are all pale with faint darker mottling that is slightly darker on the throat and the hind legs. The thighs are posteriorly pale with darker mottling.

Habitat and conservation

''Austrochaperina adamantina'' has been recorded from elevations between above sea level (the upper limit is imprecise and could be lower). Its ecological requirements are unknown but it is presumably a forest inhabitant that breeds by direct development (i.e, there is no free-living larval stage), as its congeners. Threats to it are unknown.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2242214 adamantina Amphibians of New Guinea Amphibians of Papua New Guinea Endemic fauna of New Guinea Endemic fauna of Papua New Guinea Amphibians described in 2000 Taxa named by Richard G. Zweifel Taxonomy articles created by Polbot