Rhinophrynus dorsalis, Burrowing Toad, Tamaulipas

The Rhinophrynidae are a family of frogs containing one extant genus, the

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 ...

Rhinophrynus This frog belongs to the Family ''Rhinophrynidae'' and Genus Rhinophrynus. Rhinophrynus dorsalis is the only living representation of the family Rhinophrynidae. This family is also known as the burrowing toads, and is evidently a small and specia ...

'', and a number of fossil genera. The family is sometimes known as the Mexican burrowing toads or simply burrowing toads. ''Rhinophrynus'' occurs in the Central America north from Costa Rica to Mexico and Texas. Fossil finds of Rhinophrynidae come from Mexico, the United States, and Canada. ''Rhinophrynus'' is a burrowing ant and termite eater.

Systematics

The Rhinophrynidae are the

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 ...

of the Pipidae. The

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

formed by these two genera is sometimes referred to as Xenoanura or superfamily

Pipoidea Pipoidea are a clade of frogs that have variously been defined as a suborder (original definition), superfamily, or an unranked node-based taxon. There is no single, authoritative higher-level classification of frogs, and Vitt and Caldwell (201 ...

Genera

Extant genera: * ''

'' or ''

Mexican burrowing toad This frog belongs to the Family ''Rhinophrynidae'' and Genus Rhinophrynus. Rhinophrynus dorsalis is the only living representation of the family Rhinophrynidae. This family is also known as the burrowing toads, and is evidently a small and specia ...

'' Fossil genera: * †''

Chelomophrynus ''Chelomophrynus'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric anurans in the family Rhinophrynidae. A single species is known, ''Chelomophrynus bayi'' from the Uintan Wagon Bed Formation of Wyoming. It was probably a subterranean feeder, like the mode ...

'' Henrici 1991 Wagon Bed Formation, Wyoming United States, Eocene * †''

Eorhinophrynus ''Eorhinophrynus'' is an extinct genus of prehistoric frog from Wyoming. See also * List of prehistoric amphibians This list of prehistoric amphibians is an attempt to create a comprehensive listing of all Genus, genera from the fossil record t ...

'' Hecht 1959

Polecat Bench Formation The Polecat Bench Formation is a geologic formation in Montana. It preserves fossils dating back to the Paleogene period.D. E. Russell. 1967. Le Paleocene continental d'Amerique du nord. Memoires du Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle. Serie C ...

, Wyoming, United States, Paleocene * †''

Rhadinosteus ''Rhadinosteus parvus'' (meaning "long slender bone") is an extinct species of prehistoric frogs that lived during the Late Jurassic.Foster, J. (2007). "''Rhadinosteus parvus''." ''Jurassic West: The Dinosaurs of the Morrison Formation and Their ...

'' Henrici 1998 Morrison Formation, Utah, United States, Late Jurassic The affinity of ''Eorhinophrynus'' is uncertain.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3429460 Amphibian families Late Jurassic first appearances Taxa named by Albert Günther