Namúli Mongrel Frog

description

Description of the Holotype — Small to medium size frog, SUL 17.9 mm. Body is slender, dorsolateral flattened, widest at armpits. Head broad (HW / SUL 0.39), rounded from above in profile, head length is moderate to short (HL / SUL 0.34). Canthus rostralis rounded, straight from eye to nostril, loreal region slightly sloped outwards towards nostrils. Nostrils small, rounded, directed laterally, teardrop shaped angled downwards and backwards to eye, positioned midway between the eye and the snout (EN / SL 0.50). Internarinal distance is smaller than distance between eye and nostril (IND / EN 0.80). Eyes directed anterolaterally, the eyes protrude, and slightly visible from below, moderate in size (ED / HW 0.32; ED / HL 0.37), nearly equal to interorbital distance (ED / IOD 1.29). Distance between anterior corners of eyes is much greater to the internostril distance (IOD / IND 1.42). The angle of the jaw slopes slightly upwards posteriorly from snout to just behind eye level. Tympanum obscure, with no clear glandular ridge above tympanum from eye to base of forearm. Jaws without maxillary and premaxillary teeth, lower jaw with small, anterior vomerine odontophore with central project

New species of Mongrel Frogs (Pyxicephalidae: Nothophryne) for northern Mozambique inselbergs

description

Namuli Mongrel Frog; Namuli Mountain Frog (Figs 4 A – D, 6 A – C) Synonym — Nothophryne broadleyi – Timberlake et al. 2009; Conradie et al. 2016 (part) Holotype — NHM UK 2018.02284 (was PEM A 11320) adult male, collected from eastern slopes of Ukalini Forest at the base of the two Namuli granite domes (15.3615 ° S, 37.07211 ° E, 1 591 m asl), Mozambique by W. Conradie on 27 November 2014. Paratype males (18) — a) PEM A 11322, 11324, 11326 - 7, 11329, 11331, 11333, 11334 - 7, 11340. Same collection details as the holotype. b) PEM A 11342, 11344 - 7. Collected from Namuli massif on the lower slopes of the granite dome, Mount Pese (15.38642 ° S, 37.03352 ° E, 1 110 m asl), Mozambique by G. B. Bittencourt-Silva and H. M. Engelbrecht on 28 November 2014. All specimens were adult males. Paratype females (7) — a) NHM UK 2018.02285 (was PEM A 11321), PEM A 11323, 13328, 11330, 11339. Same collection details as holotype. b) PEM A 11343. Collected from Namuli massif on the lower slopes of the granite dome, Mount Pese (15.38642 ° S, 37.03352 ° E, 1 110 m asl) by G. B. Bittencourt-Silva and H. M. Engelbrecht on 28 November 2014. All specimens are adult females.

New species of Mongrel Frogs (Pyxicephalidae: Nothophryne) for northern Mozambique inselbergs

diagnosis

Diagnosis — Nothophryne baylissi sp. nov. can be distinguished from other Nothophryne by the following: presence of a narrow median lingual process (approximately 0.5 mm) on the dorsal surface of the tongue (from N. broadleyi – up to 1.0 mm long; N. inagoensis sp. nov. – less than 0.2 mm long; N. ribauensis sp. nov. – marginally elevated tubercle; N. unilurio sp. nov. – absent) (Fig. 2 B), tympanum obscured or barely visible (clearly visible in N. broadleyi, N. ribauensis sp. nov., N. unilurio sp. nov.), and medium paced call with clusters of notes (compared to higher pitched and evenly spaced call of N. broadleyi, and more complicated call structures of N. ribauensis sp. nov.). The sequences of Nothophryne baylissi sp. nov. differ from the other species of Nothophryne by 5 – 7 % (16 S p-distance) and 3 – 5 % (RAG 1 p-distance). Nothophryne baylissi sp. nov. is allopatric with all other Nothophryne species.

New species of Mongrel Frogs (Pyxicephalidae: Nothophryne) for northern Mozambique inselbergs

distribution

Distribution — Currently only known from Mount Namuli in central Mozambique.

New species of Mongrel Frogs (Pyxicephalidae: Nothophryne) for northern Mozambique inselbergs