Uperoleia glandulosa Davies, Mahony, and Roberts, 1985

Catullo, Renee A., Doughty, Paul, Roberts, Dale & Keogh, Scott, 2011, Multi-locus phylogeny and taxonomic revision of Uperoleia toadlets (Anura: Myobatrachidae) from the western arid zone of Australia, with a description of a new species, Zootaxa 2902, pp. 1-43 : 15-17

Uperoleia glandulosa Davies, Mahony, and Roberts, 1985

Glandular Toadlet

Uperoleia glandulosa Davies, Mahony, and Roberts, 1985 , Trans. R. Soc. S. Aust. 109: 103 Holotype. WAM R89489, adult male collected at Petermarer Creek, Port Hedland-Broome Rd, WA (21º23’6”S, 118º48’21”E) on 10 January 1983 by M. Mahony and J.D. Roberts.

Paratypes. There are seven paratypes, six adult males and one adult female: WAM R89490–2, AMS R114573 collected with the holotype; SAMA R27081–2 (cleaned and stained), 3.2 km NE Wittenoom turnoff on Port Hedland-Broome Rd, WA, on 10 January 1983 by M. Mahony and J.D. Roberts; WAM R22921, Mundabullangana (5 km E of homestead), WA, on 19 Feb 1961 by G.M. Storr.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from congeners by a combination of small body size (males 20.6–30.4 mm, females 22.8–27.5 mm SUL) with moderately long limbs (TL/SUL 0.37±0.03 [0.33–0.42]), narrow snout (EN/IN 1.28±0.11 [1.03–1.47]), absence of maxillary teeth, extensively exposed frontoparietal fontanelle, faintly tubercular skin on dorsum, olive-brown dorsal surface with loosely connected irregular dark markings, orange femoral patches, well-developed parotoid, inguinal and coccygeal glands; inguinal gland thin and long, sometimes connecting to parotoid gland. Toes webbed to first or just past first proximal tubercles ( Fig. 2 b), and oval inner and broad outer metatarsal tubercles. A sharp ‘click’ as an advertisement call.

Description. Moderate body size, squat and rotund. Head small with slightly protruding eyes. When viewed laterally, evenly sloping snout with slightly rounded tip; when viewed from above, sides of snout gradually terminate in rounded point. Canthus rostralis prominent and rounded; loreal region sloping and slightly convex. Small and rounded medial projection (synthesis of mentomeckelian bones) that matches notch on upper jaw. Nostrils directed upwards; nares with a raised edge. Anterior corner of eye covered by flap of skin; at dorsal terminus the skin overlaps the skin of the brow above the eye. Tympana not visible, covered by skin and parotoid glands. Tongue oval and elongate. Maxillary and vomerine teeth absent. Frontoparietal fontanelle extensively exposed ( Davies et al. 1985). EN larger than IN (EN/IN 1.27±0.11 [1.03–1.39]).

Arms and hands moderately built. Arms of moderate length (ArmL/SUL 0.40±0.11 [0.37–0.50]), fingers poorly fringed and unwebbed. Finger length 3>4>2>1. Tubercles under fingers extensively developed; one on first and second, two on third and fourth. Palmar tubercles large and prominent. Large outer palmar tubercle on distal portion of wrist. Nuptial pad of males on inner portion of first finger (beginning halfway down finger), extending to base of wrist (¼ along forearm) and slightly encroaching on palmar surface.

Legs moderately long (TL/SUL 0.37±0.03 [0.33–0.42]) and of thin build. Toe length 4>3>5>2>1. Tubercles under toes conical and well developed: one on first and second, two on third and fifth, three on fourth. Toes long, webbed to first or just beyond first proximal tubercles ( Fig. 2 b), and moderately to extensively fringed. Large oval inner metatarsal tubercle, oriented along fifth toe. Outer metatarsal tubercle large, rounded, spatulate, and oriented perpendicular to foot.

Dorsum faintly tubercular with a raised mid-vertebral line on snout extending posteriorly to between parotoid glands, and sometimes to urostyle. Tiny pale tubercles occasionally on either side of snout, especially below eye. Ventral surface slightly granular, with scattered white tubercles. Well developed parotoid, inguinal and coccygeal glands; inguinal long and thin, occasionally continuous with parotoid. Mandibular gland moderately developed but disrupted.

Coloration in life. Dorsal ground color pale to dark olive brown. An unbroken dark brown 'V' pointed posteriorly is located between the eyes, occasionally interrupted at midline by vertebral row of orange tubercles. Large dark semi-circular markings that curve above the parotoid glands usually present. Dorsal surface with loosely connected irregular dark brown blotches, including on glands (Fig. 7). All glands colored orange or yellowish-orange. Large red orange femoral patches and in groin. Ventral surface whitish and flecked with gray. Chest is occasionally unpigmented, and a few larger white tubercles are present at the junction of the arms and chest. Thighs are unpigmented with scattered white tubercles. Males have a darkly pigmented chin.

Advertisement call. Figure 6 summarizes the main features of the call. The call is a sharp click comprised of two to four pulses.

Habitat. Specimens have been collected from drainage lines with sparse tree cover and in roadside pools, and in ephemeral pools in riverbeds. Davies et al. (1985) report ‘males were calling at the base of sedge clumps at the water’s edge or in a similar position in the water’ and ‘around a flooded claypan’. As a microhabitat preference, we observed U. glandulosa preferred areas covered with thick sedge clumps close to water. Under the continuous cover of the grass U. glandulosa did not appear to hide under litter or otherwise attempt to conceal location.

Distribution. Uperoleia glandulosa is only known to occur along the eastern portion of the Roebourne Plain from Goldsworthy to Mundabullangana, and occurs inland along the Yule River in the Chichester subregion (Fig.

8a). The Roebourne Plain is characterized by a sandy substrate supporting coastal grasslands interspersed with floodplains. The area receives intermittent rainfall during summer.

Etymology. glandulosa refers to the conspicuous glands of this species.

Comparisons with other species. Uperoleia glandulosa is distinguished from other Uperoleia species in the western arid zone by a combination of characters including dark paravertebral bands above but not extending far posteriorly past the parotoid glands. Uperoleia russelli has dark longitudinal bands running down the full length of the body and U. micromeles , U. saxatilis sp. nov., and U. talpa do not have dark dorsal bands. Glands are orangish and unlike all but U. russelli the glands usually connect along the sides. They have an extensively exposed frontoparietal fontanelle unlike all other western arid zone Uperoleia , and toe webbing extends to the first or just past the first proximal tubercle ( Fig. 2 b), which is more extensive than U. micromeles and less extensive than U. russelli and U. saxatilis sp. nov. Within the region, U. glandulosa is the only species known to have a short sharp click as an advertisement call.

Remarks. The original species description by Davies et al. (1985) contains detailed and accurate information. This species appears highly limited by geological boundaries including the rocky Pilbara craton to the south and the Great Sandy Desert to the northeast. The Roebourne Plain continues along the entire coastline of the Pilbara, except for the protrusion of the Chichester Range where it reaches the coast between Karratha and Roebourne. This rocky area may act as a barrier to further dispersal into the western Roebourne Plain for this species.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Extent of webbing relative to tubercle position on the fourth toe. a) basal webbing, b) webbing extends to the first proximal tubercle, c) webbing extends to halfway between the first and second proximal tubercles, d) webbing extends to the second proximal tubercle.

FIGURE 6. Oscillographs and spectrograms of (a) U. glandulosa, U. russelli (b) long call and (c) short call, U. talpa (d) long call and (e) short call, and U. saxatilis sp. nov. (f) long call and (g) short call.