Ceratobatrachus, BOULENGER, 1884

Brown, Rafe M., Siler, Cameron D., Richards, Stephen J., Diesmos, Arvin C. & Cannatella, David C., 2015, Multilocus phylogeny and a new classification for Southeast Asian and Melanesian forest frogs (family Ceratobatrachidae), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society (Zool. J. Linn. Soc.) 174 (1), pp. 130-168 : 150

SUBGENUS CERATOBATRACHUS BOULENGER, 1884

Type species

Ceratobatrachus guentheri Boulenger, 1884 , by monotypy.

Diagnosis

The sole species of the subgenus Ceratobatrachus , Cornufer (Ceratobatrachus) guentheri , is one of the most charismatic and distinctive species in the Ceratobatrachidae and is readily diagnosed from all members of the genus Cornufer by having (1) elaborated ossification of the squamosal (vs. absence of ornamental ossification); and by the (2) presence of mandible odontoids (vs. absence); and (3) presence of ornate dermal protuberances above the eyes (‘horns’), at the tip of the snout, and along the posterior edges of fore- and hindlimbs (vs. absence). These characters are uniquely derived in this lineage ( Fig. 2, Clade S).

Phylogenetic definition

Ceratobatrachus is an apomorphy-based name for the clade ( Fig. 2, Clade S) originating in the ancestor in which the following apomorphy, synapomorphic with those in the known populations of Co. (Ce.) guentheri , originated: ornate dermal protuberances above the eyes (‘horns’), at the tip of the snout, and in the form of serrated flaps along the outer edges of the limbs.

Content: Cornufer (Ce.) guentheri ( Table 3).

Comment

Cornufer (Ce.) guentheri is most closely related to the extremely phenotypically dissimilar miniaturized species Cornufer acrochordus ( Fig. 2). This bizarre and completely unexpected relationship stands as a testament to the highly variable and at times bewildering patterns of morphological variability and phylogenetic relationships in the family Ceratobatrachidae .

Etymology

Although Boulenger (1884) provided no etymology for Ceratobatrachus , the name is probably derived from the Greek ‘kerato’, meaning ‘horned’ and the Greek

‘batrachos’, meaning ‘frog’. Suggested common name: Solomon Islands horned frogs.