''Copiula guttata'' is a species of

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

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 elsew ...

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 ...

and known from around the head of the Gulf of Papua in the

Gulf A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodie ...

and

Chimbu Province Chimbu, more frequently spelled Simbu, is a province in the Highlands Region of Papua New Guinea. The province has an area of 6,112 km2 and a population of 376,473 (2011 census). The capital of the province is Kundiawa. Mount Wilhelm, the ta ...

s. 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 ...

is the Latin adjective ''guttata'' that means "spotted" and refers to the dorsal colour pattern of this species. Based on molecular evidence, it was transferred from ''

Austrochaperina ''Austrochaperina'' is a genus of microhylid frogs found on New Guinea, New Britain and Australia. Taxonomy The genus was removed from the synonymy of '' Sphenophryne'' by Richard Zweifel in 2000. However, as currently defined, it might not be ...

'' to ''

Copiula ''Copiula'' is a genus of Microhylidae, microhylid frogs endemic to New Guinea. The common name Mehely frogs has been coined for them. They are leaf-litter inhabitants. Taxonomy ''Copiula'' is probably not monophyletic. Some former ''Austrochape ...

'' in 2016.

Description

Males measure and females in snout–vent length. The dorsum bears a pattern of irregular dark brown spots on a gray-brown background. The legs are long. The tympanum is small and inconspicuous. The fingers and toes are unwebbed and have well-developed terminal discs.

Habitat and conservation

Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s are lowland tropical forests. It is a leaf-litter species that breeds in soil cavities. It is a reasonably common species and although it can suffer locally from

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

, it also occurs in remote areas with little human influence, and is therefore not considered threatened.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q28034756 guttata Amphibians of Papua New Guinea Endemic fauna of Papua New Guinea Taxa named by Richard G. Zweifel Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Amphibians described in 2000