''Barygenys parvula'' 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 ...

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 only known from the

Adelbert Mountains Adelbert Range is a mountain range in Madang Province, north-central Papua New Guinea. The highest point of the mountains is at . The Northern Adelbert languages and Southern Adelbert languages are spoken in the region. Fauna and flora As with ...

, an isolated coastal range on the north coast of

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 ...

. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''parvula'' is from the Latin adjective meaning small, in reference to the small size of this frog.

Description

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 ...

consists of two adult males measuring in snout–vent length. The body is robust, with broad head, truncate shout, relatively short legs, and small eyes. The tympanum is inconspicuous. The fingers are short and unwebbed; the toes are unwebbed and have slightly expanded digital disks. The skin is somewhat warty. The dorsum is brown with indistinct markings. The ventral surfaces are finely mottled in dark and light brown. The male advertisement call has been described as "a series of rapid, high-pitched peeps".

Habitat and conservation

''Barygenys parvula'' inhabits primary tropical rainforest at about

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 ...

. It is a ground-dwelling species. It appears to adaptable and be able to survive in secondary and degraded habitats. It seems be common at the type locality. It is not considered to be significantly threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

, despite human settlement and

forest loss Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then land conversion, converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or u ...

, because of its adaptability.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2670364 parvula Amphibians of New Guinea Amphibians of Papua New Guinea Endemic fauna of New Guinea Endemic amphibian species of Papua New Guinea Amphibians described in 1981 Taxa named by Richard G. Zweifel Taxonomy articles created by Polbot