Barygenys exsul is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to Papua New Guinea. It is known from Rossel (type locality) and Sudest Islands in the Louisiade Archipelago, east of New Guinea.[1][3][4] It is uncertain whether the specimens from Sudest really are conspecific with this species. Barygenys apodasta and Barygenys resima were mixed with this species prior to their description in 2013.[4]
| Barygenys exsul | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Microhylidae |
| Genus: | Barygenys |
| Species: | B. exsul
|
| Binomial name | |
| Barygenys exsul Zweifel, 1963
| |
| Synonyms[3] | |
|
Baragenys exsul Zweifel, 1963[2] — incorrect original spelling of generic name | |
Description
editAdult males measure 22.4–25.5 mm (0.88–1.00 in) and females 22.8–38.9 mm (0.90–1.53 in) in snout–vent length. The eyes are small. The tympanum is not evident or is indistinct. The fingers are short, unwebbed, and with rounded tips but lacking discs; the toes are unwebbed and have discs that are barely wider than width of penultimate phalanges. Coloration is dark brown or mud-brown, speckled with black or with obscure darker brown markings. Sometimes they can be uniform dark brown, or have a broad mud-brown vertebral stripe.[4]
Males call at night from beneath the surface of the soil. The call is a rapid series of 4–9 boops.[4]
Habitat and conservation
editIts natural habitats are primary or secondary lowland rainforests and cloudforests,[1] and have been found at altitudes up to 720 m (2,360 ft) above sea level.[4] It is a fossorial species[1] that can be moderately common several centimeters beneath the soil surface.[4] Development is presumably direct[1] (i.e., there is no free-living larval stage[5]).
The species is not facing major threats. It is utilized on Tagula for magic purposes—to provide fertility to land if planted—but the level of utilization is likely too low to constitute a major threat.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2020). "Barygenys exsul". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T76231648A76230944. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T76231648A76230944.en. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
- ^ Zweifel, R. G. (1963). "New microhylid frogs (Baragenys and Cophixalus) from the Louisiade Archipelago, New Guinea". American Museum Novitates (2141): 1–10. hdl:2246/1600.
- ^ a b Frost, Darrel R. (2016). "Barygenys exsul Zweifel, 1963". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f Kraus, Fred (2013). "Two new species of frogs related to Barygenys exsul (Microhylidae) from New Guinea". Herpetologica. 69 (3): 314–328. doi:10.1655/HERPETOLOGICA-D-12-00073. S2CID 84732888.
- ^ Vitt, Laurie J. & Caldwell, Janalee P. (2014). Herpetology: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles (4th ed.). Academic Press. p. 166.