The southern frogs form the Leptodactylidae, a name that comes from Greek meaning a bird or other animal having slender toes. They are a diverse

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 ...

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 that most likely diverged from other hyloids during the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

. The family has undergone major taxonomic revisions in recent years, including the reclassification of the former subfamily Eleutherodactylinae into its own family the

Eleutherodactylidae The Eleutherodactylidae are a family of direct-developing frogs native to northern South America, the Caribbean, and southernmost North America. They are sometimes known under the common name rain frogs. Formerly the subfamily Eleutherodactylina ...

; the Leptodactylidae now number 206 species in 15 genera distributed throughout

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

, the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...

, and

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

. The family includes terrestrial, burrowing, aquatic, and arboreal members, inhabiting a wide range of habitats. Several of the genera within the Leptodactylidae lay their eggs in foam nests. These can be in crevices, on the surface of water, or on forest floors. These foam nests are some of the most varied among frogs. When eggs hatch in nests on the forest floor, 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 ...

s remain within the nest, without eating, until

metamorphosis Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some inse ...

Classification

As of December 2019, the

Amphibian Species of the World ''Amphibian Species of the World 6.1: An Online Reference'' (ASW) is a herpetology database. It lists the names of frogs, salamanders and other amphibians, which scientists first described each species and what year, and the animal's known range. ...

classifies the following genera in the family Leptodactylidae: * Subfamily Leiuperinae Bonaparte, 1850 (90 species) ** ''

Edalorhina ''Edalorhina'' is a small genus of leptodactylid frogs. They are found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Sea ...

'' Jiménez de la Espada, 1870 ** '' Engystomops'' Jiménez de la Espada, 1872 ** ''

Physalaemus ''Physalaemus'' is a large genus of leptodactylid frogs. These frogs, sometimes known as dwarf frogs or foam frogs, are found in South America. It is very similar to ''Leptodactylus'', a close relative, and indeed the recently rescribed ''Lepto ...

'' Fitzinger, 1826 ** '' Pleurodema'' Tschudi, 1838 ** ''

Pseudopaludicola ''Pseudopaludicola'' is a genus of leptodactylid frogs from lowland northern and central South America. They are known under the common name dwarf swamp frogs or swamp frogs. Systematics ''Pseudopaludicola'' are small frogs, growing maximally ...

'' Miranda-Ribeiro, 1926 * Subfamily

Leptodactylinae The Leptodactylinae are a subfamily of leptodactylid frogs distributed between southern North America (Texas, USA, and Sonora, Mexico) and South America to Brazil. Their sister taxon In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also calle ...

Werner, 1896 (1838) (96 species) ** ''

Adenomera ''Adenomera'' is a genus of leptodactylid frogs, sometimes known as tropical bullfrogs, found in South America east of the Andes. The genus was until recently considered a synonym of ''Leptodactylus ''Leptodactylus'' is a genus of leptodac ...

'' Steindachner, 1867 ** ''

Hydrolaetare ''Hydrolaetare'' is a genus of leptodactylid frogs. These frogs are found in Colombia, French Guiana, Peru, Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, ...

'' Gallardo, 1963 ** ''

Leptodactylus ''Leptodactylus'' is a genus of leptodactylid frogs. It includes the species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is ...

'' Fitzinger, 1826 ** ''

Lithodytes ''Lithodytes'' is a genus of frogs in the family of Leptodactylidae. It is monotypic, being represented by the single species, ''Lithodytes lineatus'', also commonly known as the gold-striped frog or painted antnest frog. It is found in tropical ...

'' Fitzinger, 1843 * Subfamily Paratelmatobiinae Ohler and Dubois, 2012 (13 species) ** ''

Crossodactylodes ''Crossodactylodes'' (common name: bromeliad frogs) is a genus of leptodactylid frogs from the Atlantic Forest of eastern Brazil. Most ''Crossodactylodes'' are Atlantic Forest species closely associated with bromeliad The Bromeliaceae (the ...

'' Cochran, 1938 ** ''

Paratelmatobius ''Paratelmatobius'' is a genus of frogs in the family Leptodactylidae. They are endemic to southern Brazil. Species The following species are recognised in the genus ''Paratelmatobius '': AmphibiaWeb also lists ''Paratelmatobius pictiventris ...

'' Lutz and Carvalho, 1958 ** ''

Rupirana ''Rupirana'' is a genus of frogs in the family Leptodactylidae. It is monotypic, being represented by the singles species ''Rupirana cardosoi''. The specific name ''cardosoi'' honors Adão José Cardoso, a Brazilian herpetologist. It is endemic ...

'' Heyer, 1999 ** ''

Scythrophrys ''Scythrophrys'' is a genus of frogs in the family Leptodactylidae. It is monotypic, being represented by the single species, ''Scythrophrys sawayae'', commonly known as the Banhado frog, after its type locality. It is endemic to Serra do Mar i ...

'' Lynch, 1971 * Incertae sedis ** "''Leptodactylus''" ''ochraceus'' Lutz, 1930

References

External links

Leptodactylidae, from the Tree of Life Web Project

Leptodactylidae taxonomy, from the NCBI taxonomy browser

Leptodactylid description, from AmphibiaWeb
{{Taxonbar, from=Q55475 Amphibian families Maastrichtian first appearances Taxa named by Franz Werner Neotropical realm fauna