''Barygenys atra'' 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 eastern

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

and is known from the Morobe and Northern Provinces,

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 ...

. Common name Gunther's Papua frog has been proposed for it.

Description

''Barygenys atra'' is a heavy-bodied frog with a comparatively small head, moderately long hind limbs, and pointed nose. It grows to at least in snout–vent length (the

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

, sex unspecified). The snout shows only the faintest trace of the three vertical ridges that are prominent in other ''Barygenys'' species. The eyes are very small. The tympanum is scarcely visible; a weakly developed supratympanic fold is present. The fingers are short, broad at the base and tapering to narrowly rounded tips. The toe tips are broadened into small discs. No webbing is present. Preserved specimens are dorsally dark purplish brown, with a thin vertebral line. A living specimen was dorsally reddish brown with some black spots; the flanks were very dark gray, almost black.

Habitat and conservation

''Barygenys atra'' occurs in lowland and hill forests at elevations below , but its specific habitat requirements are poorly known. Development is direct (i.e, there is no free-living larval stage). There are no known threats to this species. It is not known to occur in any protected areas.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2696964 atra Amphibians of New Guinea Amphibians of Papua New Guinea Endemic fauna of New Guinea Endemic amphibian species of Papua New Guinea Taxa named by Albert Günther Amphibians described in 1896 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot