The Alytidae are 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 ...

of primitive frogs. Their common name is painted frogs or midwife toads. Most 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 else ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, but three species occur in northwest Africa, and a species formerly thought to be extinct is found in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. This family is also known as Discoglossidae, but the older name Alytidae has priority and is now recognized by major reference works. Some researchers, though, suggest that '' Alytes'' and ''

Discoglossus ''Discoglossus'' (common name: painted frogs) is a genus of frogs in the family Alytidae (formerly Discoglossidae) found in southern Europe and northwestern Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, ...

'' are different enough to be treated as belonging to separate families, implying resurrection of the Discoglossidae. The term "discoglossid" has also been used to refer to many primitive fossil frogs that share plesiomorphic (ancestral) similities to alytids, but that are probably not closely related.

Genera and species

The family contains three extant genera, '' Alytes'', ''

'', and '' Latonia''. The first is somewhat toad-like and can often be found on land. The second is smoother and more frog-like, preferring the water. The third genus was until recently considered extinct, and is represented by the recently rediscovered Hula painted frog. All of the species have pond-dwelling

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. The genera '' Bombina'' and ''

Barbourula ''Barbourula'' is a genus of amphibian commonly referred to as jungle toads. They are small toads of the fire-bellied toad family, Bombinatoridae, found in the Philippines and Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island ...

'' also used to be under this family, but have now been moved to the

Bombinatoridae Bombinatoridae is a family of toads 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 to the Pleistocene. The ...

Extant genera

Extinct genera

Family Alytidae * Genus †'' Enneabatrachus'' ( prehistoric) ** †''Enneabatrachus hechti'' * Genus †'' Aralobatrachus'' (prehistoric) ** †''Aralobatrachus robustus'' * Genus †'' Callobatrachus'' (prehistoric) ** †''Callobatrachus sanyanensis'' * Genus †'' Bakonybatrachus'' (prehistoric) ** †''Bakonybatrachus fedori'' * Genus †'' Eodiscoglossus'' (prehistoric) ** †''Eodiscoglossus oxoniensis'' ** †''Eodiscoglossus santonjae'' File:Benny Trapp Alytes cisternasii.jpg, Iberian midwife toad ('' Alytes cisternasii'') File:Discoglossus galganoi rechts.jpg, Iberian or Portuguese painted frog (''Discoglossus galganoi'') File:Latonia seyfriedi 001.jpg, Fossil discoglossid from Miocene (†''Latonia seyfriedi'')

References

* *

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q4747664 Archaeobatrachia * Extant Late Jurassic first appearances Taxa named by Leopold Fitzinger Amphibian families Palearctic realm biota