taxonID	type	description	language	source
22B65486A7D95B34870D9631A25F1C1A.taxon	diagnosis	Diagnosis. A species of Litoria that can be distinguished from all other taxa by the following unique combination of characters: moderately small size (male SVL 38.7 - 41.7 mm); finger webbing moderate, not extending beyond base of second phalanx on any fingers; toe webbing moderate, extending to base of second phalanx on both sides of toe 4; finger discs moderately expanded (3 FD / SVL 0.059 - 0.062); toe discs moderately expanded (4 TD / SVL 0.052 - 0.058); bones of limbs green in life; lower forelimbs and hindlimbs with low crenulated dermal ridges along lateral edges; male throat and neck smooth or ridged, but lacking numerous obvious round bumps in life; venter plain off-white in life; dorsal colouration mottled pale grey or brown with scattered very small dark-brown flecks; head lacking dark lateral band or mask; iris reddish-brown with prominent sky blue outer rim; and call very long (> 13 s), consisting of more than 90 notes repeated at a rate of 6.7 notes / s.	en	Richards, Stephen J., Oliver, Paul M. (2022): A new species of insular treefrog in the Litoria thesaurensis species group from the Nakanai Mountains, New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Vertebrate Zoology 72: 1067-1076, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/vz.72.e91422, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/vz.72.e91422
22B65486A7D95B34870D9631A25F1C1A.taxon	description	Description of holotype. Habitus moderately robust (Fig. 1 A-B), limbs moderately long (TL / SVL 0.53); snout narrowly rounded in dorsal aspect, distinctly sloping in lateral aspect. Canthus poorly defined, broadly rounded, slightly curved in dorsal view; loreal region sloping, slightly concave; nostrils near tip of snout, oriented laterally. Eyes large (EYE / SVL 0.127). Tongue broadly oval with distinct posterior notch; vocal slits short, extending anteriorly from level of angle of jaw. Vomero-palatine ridges located midway between internal nares, prominently raised, about 0.6 mm apart, each with 3 - 4 distinct teeth. Tympanum moderately large (TYM / SVL 0.070), annulus distinct except for postero-dorsal edge obscured by thick, curved, postocular fold extending from posterior edge of eye to above axillary junction. Skin finely but distinctly granular dorsally; abdomen coarsely granular; throat and chest coarsely ridged. Fingers moderately long, relative lengths 3> 4> 2> 1, terminal discs moderately wide (3 FD / SVL 0.062), with circum-marginal grooves (Fig. 2 A); webbing reaches to ultimate subarticular tubercle on inner side of Finger 4 and outer side of Finger 2, to base of third phalanx on inner side of Finger 3, to halfway along third phalanx on outer side of Finger 3, restricted to thin basal strip between Fingers 1 and 2. Subarticular tubercles prominent, circular, undivided. Inner plantar tubercle prominent, ovoid. Nuptial pads low, brown, granular, extending 3.5 mm along base of Finger 1. Prominent tubercles along posterior-ventral edge of forelimbs form crenulated ridge extending from base of Finger 4 to elbow. Toes moderately short, relative lengths 4> 5> 3> 2> 1, terminal discs moderately wide (4 TD / SVL 0.058) with circum-marginal grooves (Fig. 2 B); webbing reaches penultimate phalanx on Toes 1 - 3 and 5, and to base of third phalanx on both sides of Toe 4. Inner metatarsal tubercle and subarticular tubercles prominent, not divided (Fig. 2 B). Tubercles along outer edge of lower limbs form weak crenulations. Skin on postero-ventral surface of thighs coarsely granular. In life at night dorsal and upper-lateral surfaces of torso varying shades of mottled light to medium brown (Fig. 1 B), but during photography colour quickly changed to varying shades of mottled light grey overlain with extensive fine brown stippling (Fig. 1 A); scattered small dark-brown flecks present across torso. Head with same variable base colouration as torso but lacking dark-brown flecks and having denser dark-brown stippling on snout, around canthus rostralis and on anterior surface of orbitals. Exposed surfaces of limbs and digits same colouration as torso but with more obvious and intricate mottling, denser brown stippling and lacking dark-brown flecks. Lateral and ventral surfaces of torso, throat and limbs unpatterned, largely off-white with small areas of near translucent skin, especially on thighs and upper arms (Fig. 2 C-D). Iris patterned with dense light-brown stippling and a prominent light-blue outer ring. In preservative dorsal and upper lateral surfaces of head and torso mottled with varying shades of light brown and light grey, anterior portion of head distinctly greyer than remainder of dorsal surfaces, scattered small dark-brown flecks on dorsal surfaces of torso clearly apparent, with smaller number of small white flecks. Exposed surfaces of limbs show similar base colouration to dorsum, but also have areas of off-white mottling and lack dark-brown flecks. Vent bordered dorsally by dark brown blotch and then irregular white band. Dorsal surfaces of digits buff with varying amounts of fine brown stippling, stippling especially dense on outer digits, but tending to very sparse on inner digits. Ventral surfaces buff, largely unpatterned, except for small areas of dense stippling close to lower jaw, and along extremities of forelimbs and hindlimbs.	en	Richards, Stephen J., Oliver, Paul M. (2022): A new species of insular treefrog in the Litoria thesaurensis species group from the Nakanai Mountains, New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Vertebrate Zoology 72: 1067-1076, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/vz.72.e91422, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/vz.72.e91422
22B65486A7D95B34870D9631A25F1C1A.taxon	description	Summary meristic data for holotype (all measurement in mm). SVL 41.7; TL 22.1; HW 15.3; HL 14.8; EYE 5.3; TYM 2.9; IN 3.3; EN 4.2; 3 FD 2.6; 3 FP 1.4; 4 TD 2.4; 4 TP 1.8.	en	Richards, Stephen J., Oliver, Paul M. (2022): A new species of insular treefrog in the Litoria thesaurensis species group from the Nakanai Mountains, New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Vertebrate Zoology 72: 1067-1076, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/vz.72.e91422, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/vz.72.e91422
22B65486A7D95B34870D9631A25F1C1A.taxon	distribution	Distribution and natural history. Known only from the type locality in the Nakanai Mountains in the eastern portion of the island of New Britain (Fig. 5). The species was not heard or recorded at nearby sites at higher (~ 1500 m. a. s. l.) or lower elevations (~ 200 m a. s. l.) during the same expedition (Richards 2011). As far as we are aware it has also not been recorded on other surveys elsewhere in New Britain, suggesting it may be endemic to moderate elevations in the Nakanai mountains. The type series was collected in relatively undisturbed Hill Forest (Fig. 6 A, B) at around 890 m a. s. l. in an area of complex and heavily dissected karst. When collected the holotype was calling sporadically from an elevated position on vegetation approximately 1 metre above the ground along a small slowly flowing stream (Fig. 6 C). The paratype was collected from low vegetation along the same stream. Litoria insularis occurs in sympatry with L. thesaurensis and L. lododesma, both of which were much more abundant at the type locality. Other species encountered at the type locality were the microhylid Oreophryne brachypus (Werner, 1898), the ranid Papurana novaebritanniae (Loveridge, 1948) and a diverse community of at least nine species of Ceratobatrachidae (Richards 2011).	en	Richards, Stephen J., Oliver, Paul M. (2022): A new species of insular treefrog in the Litoria thesaurensis species group from the Nakanai Mountains, New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Vertebrate Zoology 72: 1067-1076, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/vz.72.e91422, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/vz.72.e91422
22B65486A7D95B34870D9631A25F1C1A.taxon	etymology	Etymology. The name Litoria insularis alludes to both the new species' likely endemic status on the island of New Britain, and the potential that it is further restricted to the Nakanai Mountains, which are themselves a ' sky island'.	en	Richards, Stephen J., Oliver, Paul M. (2022): A new species of insular treefrog in the Litoria thesaurensis species group from the Nakanai Mountains, New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Vertebrate Zoology 72: 1067-1076, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/vz.72.e91422, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/vz.72.e91422
