''Bryophryne'' is a genus of

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 in the family

Strabomantidae The Strabomantidae are a family of frogs native to South America. These frogs lack a free-living larval stage and hatch directly into miniature "froglets". This family includes ''Pristimantis'', the most speciose genus of any vertebrate. System ...

. These frogs are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to south-eastern Peru in the

Cusco Region Cusco, also spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu suyu ), is a department and region in Peru and is the fourth largest department in the country, after Madre de Dios, Ucayali, and Loreto. It borders the departments of Ucayali on the north; Madre de D ...

, with an undescribed species from the

Puno Region Puno () is a department and region in southeastern Peru. It is the fifth largest department in Peru, after Cuzco, Madre de Dios, Ucayali, and Loreto. It is bordered by Bolivia on the east, the departments of Madre de Dios on the north, Cusco ...

. Their range is separated from that of ''

Phrynopus ''Phrynopus'' is a genus of frogs of the family Strabomantidae. Their common name is Andes frogs. They are endemic to Peru and inhabit the upper humid montane forest and supra-treeline grassland in the Cordillera Oriental, with one record from ...

'' by the

Apurímac River The Apurímac River ( que, Apurimaq mayu; es, Río Apurímac, ; from Quechua ''apu'' 'divinity' and ''rimaq'' 'oracle, talker') rises from glacial meltwater of the ridge of the Mismi, a mountain in the Arequipa Province in the south-western m ...

valley.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Bryophryne'' was erected in 2008 to accommodate two species that were in ''

'' at that time;

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Holoadeninae was erected at the same time and placed in

Description

Species of the genus ''Bryophryne'' are smallish frogs, reaching maximum snout–vent length of in '' Bryophryne cophites''. Head is narrower than the body. Differentiated

tympanic membrane In the anatomy of humans and various other tetrapods, the eardrum, also called the tympanic membrane or myringa, is a thin, cone-shaped membrane that separates the external ear from the middle ear. Its function is to transmit sound from the air ...

, tympanic annulus,

columella Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (; Arabic: , 4 – ) was a prominent writer on agriculture in the Roman Empire. His ' in twelve volumes has been completely preserved and forms an important source on Roman agriculture, together with the wo ...

, and cavum tympanicum are absent. Dorsum is finely areolate whereas venter is coarsely areolate.

Species

The following species are recognised in the genus ''Bryophryne'': Three species from southern Peru, formerly classified in the genus ''Bryophryne'', were re-assigned to a new genus ''

Qosqophryne ''Qosqophryne'' is a genus of strabomantid frogs. These frogs are endemic to south-eastern Peru in the Cusco Region at 3270 to 3800 meters above sea level. A phylogenetic analysis found ''Qosqophryne'' as sister to the genus '' Microkayla'' and ...

'' after a phylogenetic analysis determined that the genus ''Qosqophryne'' was sister to the genus '' Microkayla'' and that this clade was more closely related to ''

Noblella ''Noblella'' is a genus of frogs in the family Strabomantidae. They are found on the eastern slopes of the Andes and in the Amazon Basin in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and western Brazil. The name refers to Gladwyn K. Noble, who described ...

'' and ''

Psychrophrynella ''Psychrophrynella'' is a genus of frogs in the family Strabomantidae The genus is distributed on the Andes of southern Peru and Bolivia. One of the four species assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is assessed as ...

'' than to other species in the genus ''Bryophryne''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q93677 Strabomantidae Amphibians of South America Endemic fauna of Peru Amphibian genera Taxa named by William Edward Duellman Taxa named by Stephen Blair Hedges