Description of holotype. Adult male (Fig. 4 A – B) with vocal slits and pigmented nuptial pads (see Table 1 for summary of measurements and ratios). Body slender and elongate, tibia slightly less than half length of body, head much wider than body in dorsal profile, clearly distinct from neck. Snout rounded in dorsal view and truncate in lateral view, with distinct rostral spike extending from tip of upper jaw. Canthus rostralis moderately well defined, slightly curved; loreal region concave. Nares closer to tip of snout (excluding spike) than to eye, oriented laterally, close to top of snout. Eyes large, protruding in both dorsal and lateral views; pupil horizontal. Upper jaw protruding marginally beyond lower jaw. Tympanum moderately small, with a distinct annulus, bordered dorsally by a thick, fleshy supratympanic fold extending to the superior edge of the insertion of the upper arm. Choanae small and circular, situated close to anterior and lateral edge of palate; no vomerine teeth visible; tongue fleshy and ovoid with slightly indented posterior edge. Vocal slits present. Dorsal skin entirely smooth; ventral skin coarsely granular on throat, abdomen and upper hindlimbs; remaining ventral surfaces of limbs smooth; unpigmented ventral tubercles concentrated around vent, along posterior edge of hindlimbs and, to a lesser extent, along posterior edge of forelimbs. Fingers with relative lengths III> IV> II> I; fleshy, opaque webbing between all digits, forming a narrow basal strip between I and II, extending to disc on distal edge of II and proximal edge of IV, and to penultimate phalanx on both sides on III. Terminal discs expanded, wider than toe discs and with distinct circum-marginal grooves. Nuptial pads brown, roughly tear-shaped with point of tear oriented in posteroventral direction. Indistinct, unpigmented, bifid subarticular tubercle present at base of penultimate phalanx on all fingers, series of further indistinct unpigmented subarticular tubercles present on finger IV, indistinct proximal metacarpal tubercle at base of I, and a pair of smaller distal metacarpal tubercles at base of both III and IV. Toes moderately long, relative lengths IV> III> V> II> I. All digits with extensive fleshy, opaque webbing, basal between I and II, extending to anterior end of penultimate phalanx on distal edge of II and III and proximal edge of V, to halfway along penultimate phalanx on proximal edge of III and IV, and base of penultimate tubercle on distal edge of IV. Terminal discs slightly expanded, narrower than finger discs and with distinct circum-marginal grooves. Indistinct unpigmented subarticular tubercles on penultimate phalanx of all toes, single on I-III, bifid on IV and V. Small, indistinct unpigmented metatarsal tubercle at base of I. In preservative, ground colour of all dorsal surfaces light olive green. Dorsum with three indistinct blueishgreen transverse blotches (Fig. 4 A); anterior and thinnest blotch extending from orbit to orbit, margined posteriorly and anteriorly by ragged, thin, but noticeably darker-blue edges; posterior two blue blotches much larger with indistinct margins, extending across shoulders and posterior half of abdomen respectively, anterior edge of posteriormost blotch also distinctly darker blue. Additional smaller light-blue patches around anterior dorsal edges of elbows and dorsal surfaces of ankles, knees, and groin. Rostral spike and tip of snout predominantly blue. Two prominent white patches on either side of head, extending from eye, curving below tympanum and ending superior to axilla. Limbs with extensive greyish-brown maculations and vermiculations. Venter plain off-white, unpatterned except for sparse brown maculations along the edge of the lower jaw (Fig. 4 B). Appearance in life. The following description is based on photographs of the holotype taken at night and during the day (Fig. 5 A – E). Ground color of dorsal and lateral surfaces medium brown, with extensive vermiculations of darker brown along lateral surfaces. Three prominent, green transverse dorsal bands or blotches, one thin band between anterior edge of eyes, and two much wider and more indistinct bands extending across shoulders and posterior half of abdomen respectively. Further bright-green lateral flecks and blotches along lips, orbit, elbow and hindlimbs. Rostral spike predominately green, with brown flecks and an unpigmented tip. Broken yellowish-white labial stripe extending from tip of snout below eye to axilla. Iris with indistinctly edged outer ring of golden-brown with dark brown flecks, medial ring of dark brown with golden flecks, and narrow golden-brown inner ring around the pupil. Concealed surfaces of fore and hindlimbs orange (Fig. 5 E). Venter predominately offwhite, heavily flecked with brown around the edges of the lower jaw. Comparisons with other species. The combination of small adult size (<35 mm), slender build and a rostral spike distinguishes L. pinocchio sp. nov. from all but four other Melanesian Litoria. Of these four taxa L. pinocchio sp. nov. can be distinguished from L. mareku by its larger size (male SVL 29.2 mm vs 25.5 – 26.5 mm), long erectile rostral spike in males (vs effectively a short stub that is wider than long), and light to medium brown base colouration on dorsum (vs at least some regions of very dark chocolate brown); from L. havina by its mixed green and brown dorsal colouration (vs uniform green or brown) and orange groin colouration (vs red); and from L. mucro (found at lower elevation in the Fojas) by its proportionally shorter legs (TL / SVL = 0.48 vs 0.51 – 0.56), larger eyes (EYE / SVL = 0.12 vs 0.097 – 0.11), and more complex dorsal pattern with three prominent green bands (vs predominantly brown or olive-green with at most a small amount of light-green flecking). Males of L. havina and L. mucro also have shorter rostral spikes than L. pinocchio sp. nov. (RL <2.0 mm vs> 2.0 mm). Litoria pinocchio sp. nov. is most similar in size and appearance to L. pronimia from the southern slopes of the Central Cordillera. We compared the single specimen of L. pinocchio sp. nov. with L. pronimia specimens from populations scattered widely across much of its known range. It differs by its shorter limbs (TL / SVL 0.48 vs 0.49 – 0.52), wider tympanum (TYM / SVL 0.055 vs 0.042 – 0.053), and light green tubercles in life prominent on lateral regions of mid-torso but not extending across the dorsum (vs extending across the dorsum at mid-torso). Litoria pinocchio sp. nov. further has a tendency towards a more robust build than L. pronimia (HW / SVL 0.26 vs 0.23 – 0.26, with only one specimen out of 23 L. pronimia having the maximum ratio of 0.26). The preserved holotype of L. pinocchio sp. nov. also has a more clearly defined dorsal pattern of blue (green in life) blotches on a light brownish background (see Fig. 4) (vs densely ‘ peppered’ with varying shades of brown and blue, and with transverse green regions tending to be less clearly defined (see Fig. 2 )). Comparison of colour patterns in life based on a series of photographs of both species also suggests some further differences, with the holotype of L. pinocchio sp. nov. having a broken off-white labial stripe extending from the tympanum and across the front of the snout (Fig. 5 B – D) (vs absent, or on lateral regions of head only) and no visible off-white tubercles along the outer edge of the lower arms and legs (vs usually apparent).
