''Pleurodema'' is a genus of
leptodactylid frog
A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...
s from
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 sout ...
. They are sometimes known under the common name four-eyed frogs,
although this name can also refer to a particular species, ''
Pleurodema bibroni''.
The common name is a reference to two inguinal poison glands that resemble eyes.
When threatened, the frog lowers its head and raises its rear. When the frog adopts this posture, the poison glands are also raised toward the predator. The predator may also confuse the frog's raised posterior for the head of a larger animal.
Species
The genus contains only the following 15 species:
[
* '' Pleurodema alium'' Maciel and Nunes, 2010
* '' Pleurodema bibroni'' Tschudi, 1838
* '' Pleurodema borellii'' (Peracca, 1895)
* '' Pleurodema brachyops'' (Cope, 1869)
* '' Pleurodema bufoninum'' Bell, 1843
* '' Pleurodema cinereum'' Cope, 1878
* '' Pleurodema cordobae'' Valetti, Salas, and Martino, 2009
* '' Pleurodema diplolister'' (Peters, 1870)
* '' Pleurodema guayapae'' Barrio, 1964
* '' Pleurodema kriegi'' (Müller, 1926)
* '' Pleurodema marmoratum'' (Duméril & Bibron, 1841)
* '' Pleurodema nebulosum'' (Burmeister, 1861)
* '' Pleurodema somuncurense'' (Cei, 1969)
* '']Pleurodema thaul
''Pleurodema thaul'', the chilean four-eyed frog is a species of frog in the family Leptodactylidae.
It is found in Argentina and Chile.
Its natural habitats are subantarctic forests, temperate forests, temperate shrubland, temperate grassland, ...
'' (Lesson, 1827)
* '' Pleurodema tucumanum'' Parker, 1927
References
Leptodactylinae
Amphibians of South America
Amphibian genera
Taxa named by Johann Jakob von Tschudi
{{Leptodactylidae-stub