''Asterophrys leucopus'' is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

in the family

Microhylidae The Microhylidae, commonly known as narrow-mouthed frogs, are a geographically widespread family (biology), family of frogs. The 683 species are in 57 genera and 11 subfamilies. Evolution A molecular phylogenetic study by van der Meijden, et al. ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

to northwestern

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

where it is known from three locations: Stolle Mountain in the

Sandaun Province Sandaun Province (formerly West Sepik Province) is the northwesternmost mainland Provinces of Papua New Guinea, province of Papua New Guinea (also known as home of the sunset). It covers an area of 35,920 km2 (13868 m2) and has a population ...

—its type locality, and Hunstein Mountains in the

East Sepik Province East Sepik is a province in Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Wewak. East Sepik has an estimated population of 450,530 people (2011 census) and is 43,426 km square in size. Its density is 10.4 people per square kilometer. History Cherubim D ...

and the Bewani Mountains in the West Sepik Province.

Description

''Asterophrys leucopus'' are moderately large microhylids. The three males in the

type series In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes t ...

measure in

snout–vent length Snout–vent length (SVL) is a morphometric measurement taken in herpetology from the tip of the snout to the most posterior opening of the cloacal slit (vent)."direct line distance from tip of snout to posterior margin of vent" It is the mos ...

. A distinctive feature of these frogs, shared with the congeneric ''

Asterophrys turpicola ''Asterophrys turpicola'' (common name: New Guinea bush frog) is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is widespread in New Guinea and found in both West Papua (Indonesia) and Papua New Guinea, although it appears to be absent from th ...

'', is their extremely broad head, almost half of snout–vent length. The body is robust with short limbs. The colour pattern is mottled light and dark pinkish brown, with irregular black patches on dorsal and lateral surfaces; this gives these frogs a good camouflage against wet moss of their habitat. Males call from exposed positions; the call consists of a series of rapidly repeated introductory notes followed by slower terminal notes.

Habitat and conservation

''Asterophrys leucopus'' inhabit mossy rainforests at elevations of

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

. No threats to this species have been identified.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q779146 leucopus Amphibians of New Guinea Amphibians of Papua New Guinea Endemic fauna of New Guinea Endemic amphibian species of Papua New Guinea Amphibians described in 1994 Taxa named by Stephen J. Richards Taxonomy articles created by Polbot