''Myersiella'' 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

Microhylidae The Microhylidae, commonly known as narrow-mouthed frogs, are a geographically widespread family of frogs. The 683 species are in 63 genera and 11 subfamilies, which is the largest number of genera of any frog family. Evolution A molecular phylo ...

. It is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

, being represented by the single species, ''Myersiella microps''. 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 southeastern Brazil and occurs in Espírito Santo,

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, southeastern

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...

, and southeastern

São Paulo state SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S ...

. The genus name honors

George S. Myers George Sprague Myers (February 2, 1905 – November 4, 1985) was an American ichthyologist who spent most of his career at Stanford University. He served as the editor of ''Stanford Ichthyological Bulletin'' as well as president of the American So ...

. The genus is sometimes known as the elongated frogs, while the sole species is known as Rio elongated frog.

Taxonomy

''Myersiella'' was originally defined based on skeletal morphology. Later studies based on molecular data have supported its recognition as a

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

group, with ''

Dasypops ''Dasypops'' is a genus of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is monotypic, being represented by the single species, the Rio Mutum frog (''Dasypops schirchi''). It is endemic to the coastal plain of Espírito Santo and Bahia states of eastern B ...

'' as its

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 ...

Description

Adult males measure and adult 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 ...

. The head is very small but with a prominent, pointed snout. No tympanum is visible. The eyes are very small. The limbs are short and stout; the fingers and toes are cylindrical and have no webbing. Coloration is relatively uniform dark lead grey with very light brown ventral flecking. Males have blackened throats. The male advertisement call is a long frequency-modulated note dominated by frequences between 2.4 and 2.6 kHz. ''Myersiella microps'' has direct development (i.e., there is no free-living larval stage).

Habitat and ecology

''Myersiella microps'' occur in primary and secondary forest at elevations below . They live in the leaf litter on the forest floor and under fallen tree trunks and rocks. Males have been observed calling on the forest floor during rains. The larvae develop in the eggs in the leaf litter. Their diet consists of ants.

Conservation

''Myersiella microps'' is a very common species, but it is difficult to find. This species does not occur in open areas and can be threatened by loss of its forest habitat. However, it does occur in several protected areas.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q10795772, from2=Q2211739 Microhylidae Monotypic amphibian genera Endemic frogs of Brazil Taxa named by Antenor Leitão de Carvalho Taxonomy articles created by Polbot