Cornufer guppyi (common name: Shortland Island webbed frog or giant webbed frog) is a species of frog in the family Ceratobatrachidae.[1][2] The species is named after British surgeon Henry B. Guppy who collected the holotype from the Shortland Islands.[3][4] It is found in New Britain Island (Papua New Guinea) and in the Solomon Islands archipelago, where it is widespread, though it is missing from Makira island (San Cristobal).[2]
| Cornufer guppyi | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Ceratobatrachidae |
| Genus: | Cornufer |
| Subgenus: | Cornufer (Discodeles) |
| Species: | C. guppyi
|
| Binomial name | |
| Cornufer guppyi (Boulenger, 1884)
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Rana guppyi Boulenger, 1884 Discodeles guppyi Boulenger, 1884 | |
Taxonomy
editC. guppyi is the type species and the sole representative of the subgenus Discodeles (formerly recognized as a genus).[5]
Description
editC. guppyi is a large species of frog, with females growing as large as 250 mm (9.8 in) in snout–vent length and a weight of 1 kg (2.2 lb).[5] The snout is rounded. The tympanum is round.[6] The fingers and toes have moderately expanded terminal discs. The toes are fully webbed.[5] The legs are long. Males have external vocal sacs.[7] Preserved specimens show variable colouration, from light tan/almost white to greyish to dark reddish brown, with various darker brown or blackish brown marbling or blotching. The venter is light tan or whitish, often with some brown blotches or speckles.[6]
Human interaction
editHumans mostly use C. guppyi for food purposes, and it is tracked down by listening to its calls during rain, with March being said to be the best time to find it.[8] A whistle is sometimes used to find this frog because it will respond to the noise, and it is said that snapping a twig will fool the frog into thinking one of its legs has been broken. The frog C. guppyi is considered to be a sign of soil fertility if seen in a garden, and the tribes who hold this belief do not typically eat it. Its bones are also sometimes ground up and applied to skin to treat snake or centipede bites.
Habitat and conservation
editC. guppyi is a common species. It inhabits streams and small rivers in lowland rainforests up to elevations of 700 m (2,300 ft) above sea level. It also tolerates some habitat degradation and can be found in rural gardens and degraded forests. It is also known from caves. It can be locally impacted by habitat loss caused by logging, and by collection for human consumption and pet trade.[1] It is also eaten by domestic dogs and cats.[8]
References
edit- ^ a b c IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2020). "Cornufer guppyi ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T58256A11744557. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T58256A11744557.en. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
- ^ a b Frost, Darrel R. (2017). "Cornufer guppyi (Boulenger, 1884)". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. Archived from the original on 2021-01-21. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
- ^ Boulenger GA (1884). "Diagnoses of new Reptiles and Batrachians from the Solomon Islands, collected and presented to the British Museum by H. B. Guppy, Esq., M.B., H.M.S. 'Lark'". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 1884: 210–213 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library. (Rana guppyi, new species, p. 211).
- ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2013). The Eponym Dictionary of Amphibians. Exeter, England: Pelagic Publishing. pp. 86–87. ISBN 978-1-907807-42-8.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c Brown, Rafe M.; Siler, Cameron D.; Richards, Stephen J.; Diesmos, Arvin C.; Cannatella, David C. [in French] (21 April 2015). "Multilocus phylogeny and a new classification for Southeast Asian and Melanesian forest frogs (family Ceratobatrachidae)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 174: 130–168. doi:10.1111/zoj.12232.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Brown, Walter C. [in French] (1952). "The amphibians of the Solomon Islands". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 107: 3–64 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
- ^ Zweifel, Richard G. (1960). "Results of the 1958-1959 Gilliard New Britain Expedition. 3, Notes on the frogs of New Britain". American Museum Novitates (2023): 1–27. hdl:2246/3548 – via American Museum of Natural History.
- ^ a b Pollard, Edgar Maeniuta; Brodie, Gilianne Dawn; Morrison, Clare; Thaman, Randolph (August 2015). "Threatened Biodiversity and Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Associated Beliefs, Customs and Uses of Herpetofauna among the 'Are'Are on Malaita Island, Solomon Islands". Ethnobiology Letters. 6 (1): 103–106. doi:10.14237/ebl.6.1.2015.389. hdl:10072/141556 – via ResearchGate.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)