''Eupsophus'' 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

Alsodidae The Alsodidae are a small family of frogs from South America between Patagonia and southern Brazil. It contains 30 species in three genera. This family, along with several other families, used to be included in the family Leptodactylidae. It was ...

. They are sometimes known as ground frogs. The genus 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 ...

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and gl ...

(

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

and

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

). ''Eupsophus'' is the second most species-rich frog genera of Patagonia. These frogs are restricted to forested areas at southern latitudes.

Reproduction

In most species, the

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 i ...

s are endotrophic (developing without external food sources) and develop in water housed in small hollows in the forest floor or holes at the end of flooded tunnels. Males call from inside burrows and may engage in duets with their nearest neighbours. They also show parental care: males remain by the clutch, and later on also by the tadpoles, in small aquatic microhabitats in the ground; this behaviour is associated with significant weight loss.

Species

There are ten species in this genus: * '' Eupsophus altor'' Nuñez, Rabanal, and Formas, 2012 * '' Eupsophus calcaratus'' (Günther, 1881) * '' Eupsophus contulmoensis'' Ortiz, Ibarra-Vidal, and Formas, 1989 * '' Eupsophus emiliopugini'' Formas, 1989 * '' Eupsophus insularis'' (Philippi, 1902) * '' Eupsophus migueli'' Formas, 1978 * '' Eupsophus nahuelbutensis'' Ortiz and Ibarra-Vidal, 1992 * '' Eupsophus roseus'' (Duméril and Bibron, 1841) * '' Eupsophus septentrionalis'' Ibarra-Vidal, Ortiz, and Torres-Pérez, 2004 * '' Eupsophus vertebralis'' Grandison, 1961

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1932247 Alsodidae Amphibians of South America Amphibians of Patagonia Amphibian genera