Litoria graminea

Richards, Stephen J. & Oliver, Paul M., 2006, Two new species of large green canopy­dwelling frogs (Anura: Hylidae: Litoria) from Papua New Guinea, Zootaxa 1295, pp. 41-60 : 43-44

Systematics of Litoria graminea

The holotype of Litoria graminea (BMNH 1947.2.23.31) ( Fig.1 ) is a moderately large treefrog (SVL 49.7 mm) that was described by Boulenger in 1905. Despite its large size the specimen appears to be a juvenile and Boulenger did not report a gender for the specimen. It lacks nuptial pads and the mouth is closed so it has not been possible to determine the presence of vocal slits. Precise details of the type locality are unknown. The specimen was collected from ‘Northern British New Guinea’, an area in the centre of what is now Papua New Guinea.

Recent collections of L. ‘graminea’ from widely scattered sites across New Guinea have necessitated a reassessment of the status of this species. Consistent differences in iris colour pattern, relative head width, and nuptial pad shape among populations demonstrate that at least three species are included within L. graminea as currently recognized. We here restrict the name L. graminea to a species of large green Litoria that occurs south of New Guinea’s central mountains and has a broad head, fully webbed fingers and pigmentation on the nictitating membrane that is restricted to a thin band of tiny spots along the dorsalmost edge of the membrane. We nominate this southern taxon as ‘true’ L. graminea because the holotype is from southern Papua New Guinea (British New Guinea) and it resembles that taxon alone in the combination of broad head (HW/SVL 0.404), sparse pigmentation on the nictitating membrane, and possession of a thin white stripe along the distal edge of the dorsal eyelid.

Species Frog number Number of calls Call length (s) Number of pulses

Litoria dux sp. SAM R60725 7 0.228 (0.016) ­ nov. 0.206–0.253

Figures

FIGURE 1. Dorsal photograph of holotype of L. graminea (BMNH 1947.2.23.31). Scale = 10 mm.