''Choerophryne'' is a genus of

microhylid The Microhylidae, commonly known as narrow-mouthed frogs, are a geographically widespread family of frogs. The 683 species are in 57 genera and 11 subfamilies. Evolution A molecular phylogenetic study by van der Meijden, et al. (2007) has estima ...

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 ...

s, commonly known as Torricelli mountain frogs, endemic to

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 ...

. These frogs are small, with the body length measured from snout to vent between 11 and 23 mm.

Taxonomy and systematics

The distinction between ''Choerophryne'' and the former genus ''Albericus'' was based solely on the orientation of the alary processes of the premaxillae, giving the former its distinctive snout. In 2013 a new ''Choerophryne'' species was described with an orientation intermediate between the two genera, suggesting ''Albericus'' is likely a junior synonym of ''Choerophryne''. Formal synonymisation of the two genera was suggested by Peloso and colleagues in 2016 based on molecular evidence.

Etymology

The genus name of the junior synonym ''Albericus'' is the Latin form of

Alberich In German heroic legend, Alberich () is a dwarf. He features most prominently in the poems ''Nibelungenlied'' and '' Ortnit''. He also features in the Old Norse collection of German legends called the Thidreksaga under the name Alfrikr. His na ...

, the shape-shifting dwarf in the epic poem

Nibelungenlied The (, or ; or ), translated as ''The Song of the Nibelungs'', is an epic poetry, epic poem written around 1200 in Middle High German. Its anonymous poet was likely from the region of Passau. The is based on an oral tradition of Germanic hero ...

. Several species derive also their specific names from Nibelungenlied, e.g. ''C. siegfriedi'' from

Siegfried Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...

and ''C. fafniri'' from Fafnir.

Species

Amphibian Species of the World ''Amphibian Species of the World 6.2: An Online Reference'' (ASW) is a herpetology database. It lists the names of frogs, salamanders and other amphibians, which scientists first described each species and what year, and the animal's known range ...

assigns 37 species to ''Choerophryne'', including the species previously assigned to the genus ''Albericus'':

References

Microhylidae Amphibian genera Amphibians of New Guinea Endemic fauna of New Guinea Taxa named by Pieter Nicolaas van Kampen {{Microhylidae-stub