| _version_ | 1866901880649547776 |
|---|---|
| author | Donnellan, Stephen C. Mahony, Michael J. Esquerré, Damien Brennan, Ian G. Price, Luke C. Lemmon, Alan Lemmon, Emily Moriarty Günther, Rainer Monis, Paul Bertozzi, Terry Keogh, J. Scott Shea, Glenn M. Richards, Stephen J. |
| author_facet | Donnellan, Stephen C. Mahony, Michael J. Esquerré, Damien Brennan, Ian G. Price, Luke C. Lemmon, Alan Lemmon, Emily Moriarty Günther, Rainer Monis, Paul Bertozzi, Terry Keogh, J. Scott Shea, Glenn M. Richards, Stephen J. |
| contents | <p><b><i>Megatestis</i> Donnellan, Mahony & Richards, gen. nov.</b></p><p><b>(Fig. 22)</b></p><p><i>ZooBank</i> <i>LSID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: F90744D2-FE44-49F8- 8765-81A1D77F863D Type species:</i> <i>Chiroleptes dahlii</i> Boulenger, 1896.</p><p><i>Content:</i> One species— <i>Megatestis dahlii</i> * (Boulenger, 1896) comb. nov.</p><p><i>Diagnosis: Megatestis</i> can be diagnosed from the sister taxon <i>Leptobatrachus</i> by medium vs. long legs, undeveloped vs. expanded finger discs, and the reduced state of the m. palmaris longus vs. a multi-divided state; from <i>Cyclorana</i> by fully vs. minimal toe webbing, small vs. large inner metatarsal tubercles, presence vs. absence (in 13 of 14 species of <i>Cyclorana</i>) of intercalary structures, and by defined vs. non-defined call duration. Refer to Tables 1 and 2.</p><p><i>Distribution and ecology:</i> Semi-aquatic frogs that breed in large permanent waterbodies in grasslands and savannah forest in northern Australia.</p><p><i>Etymology:</i> From the Greek μέγᾰ́ς (<i>megas</i>, large, mighty, marvellous) and Latin <i>testis</i> (the organ, itself based on the Latin noun meaning witness, in reference to the Roman legal system which permitted only males to testify; Field and Harrison 1968), referring to the spectacularly large testis to body mass ratio exhibited by this species, among the largest in the animal kingdom. The gender is masculine.</p><p><i>Remarks: Megatestis</i> was included in the <i>Litoria aurea</i> Group of Tyler and Davies (1978). Males of <i>Megatestis</i> can have one of the largest relative testis masses of any animal, with values of 7.3–12.6% (Donnellan <i>et al</i>., unpublished data). While our data are not in accord with published values, 0.102% for <i>M. dahlii</i> in Byrne <i>et al</i>. (2002), in the absence of specimen voucher numbers in Byrne <i>et al</i>. (2002) we are unable to evaluate the reasons for the different observations. Currently monotypic but molecular genetic analyses indicate that <i>Megatestis dahlii</i> is a species complex (Donnellan and Mahony unpublished data).</p> |
| format | Recurso digital |
| id | zenodo_https___doi_org_10_5281_zenodo_17007755 |
| institution | Zenodo |
| language | |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publisher | Zenodo |
| record_format | zenodo |
| spellingShingle | Megatestis Donnellan, Mahony & Richards 2025, gen. nov. Donnellan, Stephen C. Mahony, Michael J. Esquerré, Damien Brennan, Ian G. Price, Luke C. Lemmon, Alan Lemmon, Emily Moriarty Günther, Rainer Monis, Paul Bertozzi, Terry Keogh, J. Scott Shea, Glenn M. Richards, Stephen J. Biodiversity Taxonomy Animalia Chordata Amphibia Anura Pelodryadidae Megatestis <p><b><i>Megatestis</i> Donnellan, Mahony & Richards, gen. nov.</b></p><p><b>(Fig. 22)</b></p><p><i>ZooBank</i> <i>LSID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: F90744D2-FE44-49F8- 8765-81A1D77F863D Type species:</i> <i>Chiroleptes dahlii</i> Boulenger, 1896.</p><p><i>Content:</i> One species— <i>Megatestis dahlii</i> * (Boulenger, 1896) comb. nov.</p><p><i>Diagnosis: Megatestis</i> can be diagnosed from the sister taxon <i>Leptobatrachus</i> by medium vs. long legs, undeveloped vs. expanded finger discs, and the reduced state of the m. palmaris longus vs. a multi-divided state; from <i>Cyclorana</i> by fully vs. minimal toe webbing, small vs. large inner metatarsal tubercles, presence vs. absence (in 13 of 14 species of <i>Cyclorana</i>) of intercalary structures, and by defined vs. non-defined call duration. Refer to Tables 1 and 2.</p><p><i>Distribution and ecology:</i> Semi-aquatic frogs that breed in large permanent waterbodies in grasslands and savannah forest in northern Australia.</p><p><i>Etymology:</i> From the Greek μέγᾰ́ς (<i>megas</i>, large, mighty, marvellous) and Latin <i>testis</i> (the organ, itself based on the Latin noun meaning witness, in reference to the Roman legal system which permitted only males to testify; Field and Harrison 1968), referring to the spectacularly large testis to body mass ratio exhibited by this species, among the largest in the animal kingdom. The gender is masculine.</p><p><i>Remarks: Megatestis</i> was included in the <i>Litoria aurea</i> Group of Tyler and Davies (1978). Males of <i>Megatestis</i> can have one of the largest relative testis masses of any animal, with values of 7.3–12.6% (Donnellan <i>et al</i>., unpublished data). While our data are not in accord with published values, 0.102% for <i>M. dahlii</i> in Byrne <i>et al</i>. (2002), in the absence of specimen voucher numbers in Byrne <i>et al</i>. (2002) we are unable to evaluate the reasons for the different observations. Currently monotypic but molecular genetic analyses indicate that <i>Megatestis dahlii</i> is a species complex (Donnellan and Mahony unpublished data).</p> |
| title | Megatestis Donnellan, Mahony & Richards 2025, gen. nov. |
| topic | Biodiversity Taxonomy Animalia Chordata Amphibia Anura Pelodryadidae Megatestis |
| url | https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17007755 |