''Aphantophryne'' is a genus of
microhylid
The Microhylidae, commonly known as narrow-mouthed frogs, are a geographically widespread family (biology), family of frogs. The 683 species are in 63 genera and 11 subfamilies, which is the largest number of genera of any frog family.
Evolution ...
frog
A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...
s found in
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu
Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea).
It is a simplified version of ...
and in
Mindanao
Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...
, the Philippines.
[ Originally described by Fry in 1917, ]Richard G. Zweifel
Richard George Zweifel (born November 5, 1926 in Los Angeles, died November 25, 2019) was an American herpetologist, who classified several species in the American Southwest and in Australia, including the rattling frog. Zweifel contributed immens ...
considered in 1956 ''Aphantophryne'' synonymous to ''Cophixalus
''Cophixalus'' (rainforest frogs or nursery frogs) is a genus of microhylid frogs. These are arboreal species with expanded toe-pads, endemic to Moluccan Islands, New Guinea and northeastern Queensland, Australia.
Species
As of December 2019, ...
''. The genus was resurrected in 1989 to house two new species in addition to the type species, '' A. pansa''.Asterophryinae
Asterophryinae is a subfamily of microhylid frogs distributed in an area from the Peninsular Malaysia through the Malay Archipelago to northern Australia.
Genera
The following genera are recognised in the subfamily Asterophryinae:
The most sp ...
in 2017 revealed that two species originally included in the genus '' Oreophryne'' were more closely related to ''Aphantophryne'' than to other ''Oreophryne'', and were consequently moved to this genus. The study also revealed a number of undescribed species.
Description
''Aphantophryne'' are small frogs, the maximum snout-to-vent body length is 31 mm for ''A. pansa'' and 24 mm for '' A. sabini''. The smallest species '' A. minuta'' has the body length of only 12 mm. Females are larger than males. The distinguishing feature of ''Aphantophryne'' when compared to other genyophrynine genera is the number of presacral vertebrae: ''Aphantophryne'' has seven while the other genera have eight.
Species
The genus has five recognized species:[
The true number of species is higher, considering the molecularly identified but as yet undescribed species,]species complex
In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...
rather than a single species.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2386362
Microhylidae
Amphibian genera
Amphibians of Asia
Amphibians of Oceania