Philoria richmondensis, Knowles & Mahony & Armstrong & Donnellan, 2004

Knowles, Ross, Mahony, Michael, Armstrong, Jan & Donnellan, Stephen, 2004, Systematics of Sphagnum Frogs of the Genus Philoria (Anura: Myobatrachidae) in Eastern Australia, With the Description of Two New Species, Records of the Australian Museum 56 (1), pp. 57-74 : 70-71

Philoria richmondensis n.sp.

Type data. HOLOTYPE AMS R152707 , an adult male from Bungdoozle Road, Richmond Range National Park , New South Wales, 28°39'19"S 152°42'38"E (grid reference 4717 68357, zone 56), collected by Ross Knowles on 28 October 1992 ( Fig. 4 ) . PARATYPES: AMS R165031–3 , SAMA R 57464 Little Haystack Ck , Yabbra SF collected by Ross Knowles on 3 December 1992 ; AMS R165028–9 Dome Mountain , Richmond Range SF collected by Ross Knowles on 28 Oct. 1992 ; AMS R165030 , SAMA R 57463 Bungdoozle Road , Richmond Range SF collected by Ross Knowles on 27 October 1992 .

Other material examined. See Appendix.

Diagnosis. Relatively small adult size (SVL to 28 mm); well-developed head stripe present; dorsum usually yellow, red or maroon, occasionally light tan or bronze; usually without conspicuous black patch on flank; usually with black patches on lower dorsum at an oblique angle over the ilium, and males with poorly developed nuptial pad on first finger.

Description. Body robust, pear-shaped. Head long (HL/ HW 0.64), head length approximately one quarter SVL (HL/ SVL 0.23). In profile snout prominent and blunt. Nostrils more lateral than superior, closer to snout than to eye. Distance between eye and naris just over half that of internarial span (EN/IN 0.58). Canthus rostralis well defined and concave. Eye relatively large, its diameter greater than eye to naris distance (E/EN 1.5). Pupil shape horizontal when constricted. Tympanum small and indistinct. Tongue approximately rectangular. Vomerine teeth in two laterally aligned plates, separated in midline, behind level of choanae.

No webbing on fingers or toes. Digits long, slender and cylindrical.Inner and outer palmar tubercules small but distinct. Fingers in decreasing order of length 3>2>4>1. Nuptial pad on first finger weakly developed. Hindlimb short (TL/SVL 0.44). Toes in decreasing order of length 4>3>5>2>1. Inner metatarsal tubercule at base of first toe small but distinct. No outer metatarsal tubercule. Dorsum and abdomen smooth.

Dimensions of holotype (mm). SVL 25.4, HL 5.8, HW 9.1, EN 1.8, IN 3.6, E 2.7, T 11.1.

Colour in life. Dorsum bronze, with irregular black band across lower back and fainter black blotches on upper dorsum posterior to eyes and either side along spine. Loreal region dark.A black stripe from snout through nostril along canthus rostralis, through eye along side of head to base of forearm. Eyes with blue sclera. Lips slightly darker bronze than dorsum to brown. Black patches on posterior half of flank between arm and leg. Upper surfaces of limbs bronze with black transverse bands. In preservative, abdomen pale, submandibular area and ventral surfaces of limbs, soles and palms, outer fingers and toes dark. Other fingers and toes with light banding. Cloaca and upper thighs uniformly dark.

Variation. Adult males (n = 8) measure 24 to 28 mm and females (n = 5) 24 to 27 mm SVL. Head shorter than wide (HL/HW mean 0.71, range 0.64–0.82). Head length approximately one-fifth snout to vent length (HL/SVL mean 0.24, range 0.22–0.28). Hind limbs short (TL/SVL mean 0.41, range 0.38–0.47). Eye to naris distance to internarial ratio variable (EN/IN mean 0.63, range 0.55–0.72). Dorsum smooth. The description of variation of colour in life is based on colour transparencies of six specimens. Dorsum varies from bronze or brown to plain orange or orange with a few, small, dark marks or with occasional to numerous dark speckles. Most specimens have black patches on lower dorsum at an oblique angle over ilium, less frequently joining at midline to form an arrow shape with apex directed anteriorly. Upper surfaces of limbs bronze or brown. In some specimens arms with faint transverse black bands. Spatulae on first and second fingers of females.

Etymology. Named after the Richmond Range area that contains the entire distribution of the species.

Distribution. Known with certainty from only three locations within one continuous forest block within the

Richmond Range NP west to Yabbra NP The Australian and Queensland Museums hold several specimens from Bungdoozle Road, Richmond Range NP, Yabbra NP and Toonumbah SF that are likely to be examples of P. richmondensis on the basis of their geographic proximity to localities with genotyped specimens. The Australian and Queensland Museums also hold specimens from a number of localities that are geographically intermediate between the distributions of P. kundagungan , P. loveridgei and P. richmondensis . Assignment of these populations awaits genetic analysis.

Conservation status. Philoria richmondensis has a very small range and is known definitely from only three localities and possibly another three. The largest number of calling males observed (three) at any locality was at Dome Mountain, Richmond Range NP At both Bungdoozle Road, Richmond Range NP and Yabbra NP, no calling males were observed, but animals were located by turning leaf litter, logs and rocks. These searches were carried out in the months of October and December on field trips where breeding choruses of P. kundagungan , P. pughi , and P. sphagnicolus were observed at other locations. However, evidence of recruitment was found at both Dome Mountain, Richmond Range NP and Yabbra NP, in the form of nests with either eggs or tadpoles. It is likely that clearing for agriculture and forestry in the area surrounding its current distribution has substantially reduced the range of P. richmondensis . Urgent attention is needed to assess more fully its conservation status.

Figures

Fig. 4. Photographs of living specimens of: (A,B) Philoria kundagungan—adult males, Koreelah State Forest (KOR); (C,D) P. pughi holotype, an adult male (AMS R152706), and an adult female (ABTC 25369) from Cedar Creek Trail, Washpool NP, NSW (WAS); (E,F) P. richmondensis—holotype, an adult male (AMS R152707), and an adult female (ABTC 25225) from Bungdoozle Road, Richmond Range NP, NSW (RR2).