''Charadrahyla'' 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

Hylidae Hylidae is a wide-ranging family of frogs commonly referred to as "tree frogs and their allies". However, the hylids include a diversity of frog species, many of which do not live in trees, but are terrestrial or semiaquatic. Taxonomy and s ...

. It is

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 tropical southern Mexico. The generic name was derived from Greek ''charadra'' ("ravine") and ''Hyla'', in reference to the habits of these frogs. Accordingly, common name ravine treefrogs has been coined for the genus.

Taxonomy and systematics

This genus was erected in 2005 following a major revision of the Hylidae. It corresponds to the former '' Hyla taeniopus'' group as defined by in 1970. The genus was originally diagnosed using molecular markers; no morphological

synapomorphies In phylogenetics, an apomorphy (or derived trait) is a novel character or character state that has evolved from its ancestral form (or plesiomorphy). A synapomorphy is an apomorphy shared by two or more taxa and is therefore hypothesized to have ...

supporting the new genus could be identified. The

sister taxon In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and t ...

of ''Charadrahyla'' is ''

Megastomatohyla ''Megastomatohyla'' is a genus of frogs in the family Hylidae. They are endemic to the cloud forests of central Veracruz and Oaxaca, Mexico. All are rare species with restricted distributions. The generic name is derived from Greek ''mega'' (="l ...

''. Five of the species in this genus were previously placed in the genus ''

Hyla ''Hyla'' is a genus of frogs in the tree frog family Hylidae. As traditionally defined, it was a wastebasket genus with more than 300 species found in Europe, Asia, Africa, and across the Americas. After a major revision of the family most of th ...

''. Two species were later described as new in this genus, and another two were transferred from ''

Exerodonta ''Exerodonta'' is a genus of frogs in the family Hylidae. This genus was resurrected in 2005 following a major revision of the Hylida Eleven species previously placed in the genus ''Hyla ''Hyla'' is a genus of frogs in the tree frog family H ...

'' in 2018 based on molecular data.

Description

''Charadrahyla'' are relatively large, stream-breeding frogs from

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud c ...

s and humid pine-oak forests of central and southern Mexico. In the majority of species males measure and females in

snout–vent length Snout–vent length (SVL) is a morphometric measurement taken in herpetology from the tip of the snout to the most posterior opening of the cloacal slit (vent)."direct line distance from tip of snout to posterior margin of vent" It is the most c ...

, but the former ''Exerodonta'' species, '' Charadrahyla juanitae'' and '' Charadrahyla pinorum'', are much smaller, with males measuring and females . Most species have a brownish dorsum with large blotches (exception is '' Charadrahyla altipotens'').

Species

As of 2019, there are ten recognized species: * '' Charadrahyla altipotens'' (Duellman, 1968) — yellowbelly voiceless tree frog * '' Charadrahyla chaneque'' (Duellman, 1961) — fairy tree frog * '' Charadrahyla esperancensis'' Canseco-Márquez, Ramírez-González, and González-Bernal, 2017 * '' Charadrahyla juanitae'' (Snyder, 1972) * '' Charadrahyla nephila'' (Mendelson and Campbell, 1999) * '' Charadrahyla pinorum'' (Taylor, 1937) * '' Charadrahyla sakbah'' Jiménez-Arcos, Calzada-Arciniega, Alfaro-Juantorena, Vázquez-Reyes, Blair & Parra-Olea, 2019 * '' Charadrahyla taeniopus'' (Günther, 1901) — porthole tree frog * '' Charadrahyla tecuani'' Campbell, Blancas-Hernández, and Smith, 2009 * '' Charadrahyla trux'' (Adler and Dennis, 1972) — spine-fingered tree frog

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2602852 Hylinae Amphibian genera Endemic amphibians of Mexico Taxa named by Jonathan A. Campbell Taxa named by Darrel Frost