Bombinatoridae is a

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

toad Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scient ...

s found in Eurasia. Species of the family have flattened bodies and some are highly toxic.

Taxonomy and systematics

Fossil specimens of the genus ''Bombina'' are known from the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

. The earliest fossil specimens are '' Eobarbourula'' from the

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', ...

of India, and '' Hatzegobatrachus'' from Late Cretaceous of Hateg island, Romania. The genus ''Barbourula'' was considered to be situated intermediate between ''

Discoglossus ''Discoglossus'' (common name: painted frogs) is a genus of frogs in the family Alytidae (formerly Discoglossidae) found in southern Europe and northwestern Africa. Species Six species are placed in this genus. The Hula painted frog The Hul ...

'' and ''Bombina'', but closer to the latter, so was added to the Bombinatoridae when that family was split from the

Discoglossidae The Alytidae are a family of primitive frogs. Their common name is painted frogs or midwife toads. Most are endemic to Europe, but three species occur in northwest Africa, and a species formerly thought to be extinct is found in Israel. This fa ...

Genera

Currently, there are two extant and at least two extinct genera recognised in the family Bombinatoridae:Bombinatoridae
at the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 int ...

's Amphibian Species of the World website

Extinct Genera

*†'' Eobarbourula'' (Folie et al., 2012) *†'' Hatzegobatrachus'' (Venczel & Csiki, 2003)

Description

''Bombina'' species are warty, aquatic toads about in length, and most noted for their bright bellies. They often display the unken reflex when disturbed; the animal will arch its back and limbs to expose the bright belly, and may turn over on its back. This acts as a warning to predators. The vocal behavior of some ''Bombina'' species are unusual in that the call is produced during inhalation rather than exhalation as in other frogs. They lay pigmented eggs in ponds.

Distribution and habitat

Species of the genus ''Barbourula'' occur in the Philippine Islands and Borneo, while species of the genus ''Bombina'' are found throughout

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelag ...

. They are slightly less colored than ''Bombina spp.'', and possess webbed fingers in addition to webbed toes. Characteristics of

tadpole A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found ...

s of ''Barbourula spp.'' are unknown.

References

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q55354 Extant Pliocene first appearances Taxa named by John Edward Gray Amphibian families