''Rhombophryne'' is a genus of

microhylid The Microhylidae, commonly known as narrow-mouthed frogs, are a geographically widespread family (biology), 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 ...

frogs endemic to Madagascar. It is currently estimated to include more than 23 species, but only 20 of these are currently described. The common name 'diamond frog' has been proposed and used for members of this genus.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Rhombophryne'' was monotypic until 2005, containing just '' R. testudo'' Boettger, 1880. However, in 2005 Andreone et al. showed that the genus ''

Plethodontohyla ''Plethodontohyla'' is a genus of microhylid frogs endemic to Madagascar. Species There are at present 11 species: * '' Plethodontohyla alluaudi'' (Mocquard, 1901) * '' Plethodontohyla bipunctata'' (Guibé, 1974) * '' Plethodontohyla brevipes'' ...

'' was paraphyletic with respect to this genus. Several species were therefore transferred to this genus by

Frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above-freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a gas) ...

et al. in 2006, Glaw and Vences in 2007, and Wollenberg et al. in 2008. In 2015/2016, Peloso et al. re-analysed the genetic relationships of the

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 ...

using partial genomic data. They proposed the synonymy of ''

Stumpffia ''Stumpffia'' is a genus of microhylid frogs that are endemic to Madagascar. They are mostly brown frogs that typically live among leaf litter. ''S. contumelia'' has a snout–vent length of about , making it one of the world's smallest frogs, ...

'' with ''Rhombophryne'' because these genera were found to be

paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...

. However, in 2016 Scherz et al. re-analysed their data with new data—including

osteology Osteology () is the scientific study of bones, practised by osteologists. A subdiscipline of anatomy, anthropology, and paleontology, osteology is the detailed study of the structure of bones, skeletal elements, teeth, microbone morphology, funct ...

and external morphology. They found strong support for these groups being ecologically distinct, non-synonymous sister taxa. To accommodate this, however, they established a new genus, ''

Anilany ''Anilany helenae'' is a species of frog in the microyhlid subfamily Cophylinae. It is the only species in the monotypic genus ''Anilany'', and is endemic to central Madagascar. Taxonomy This species was originally described by Denis Vallan in ...

'' for a species that would otherwise have rendered ''

. These findings were supported by a subsequent study on the phylogeny of the family Microhylidae. At present at least one species group is recognised: the ''Rhombophryne serratopalpebrosa'' species group, containing '' R. serratopalpebrosa'', '' R. guentherpetersi'', '' R. coronata'', '' R. vaventy'', '' R. tany'', '' R. ornata'', '' R. regalis'', and '' R. diadema''. This group is recognised due to the clearly synapomorphic superciliary spines (spines above the eyes) shared by all of its members, in addition to its consistent monophyly in various phylogenetic reconstructions. Other species groups have yet to be established. In early 2018, Bellati et al. moved the species '' Rhombophryne alluaudi'' to ''Plethodontohyla'' based on examination of the

type material In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes the ...

; specimens in phylogenetic analyses that had been referred to as ''R. alluaudi'' in fact belong to an undescribed species of ''Rhombophryne''.

Ecomorphology

Members of the genus ''Rhombophryne'' are ecologically and morphologically diverse. The type species, '' R. testudo'' shows many specialisations to burrowing, such as a short head, short limbs, and large metatarsal tubercles, as do its two closest relatives, '' R. matavy'' and '' R. coudreaui''. Most other species have a stout body shape which may suggest partially burrowing habits as well. ''

Rhombophryne minuta ''Rhombophryne minuta'' is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to northern Madagascar. It has been mixed with other species such as '' Rhombophryne mangabensis''; it is known with certainty only from the Marojejy Nationa ...

'' and '' R. longicrus'' by contrast have unusually long limbs, and it has been argued that they probably are more terrestrial and saltatorial than the other members of the genus. ''

Rhombophryne proportinalis ''Rhombophryne'' is a genus of microhylid frogs endemic to Madagascar. It is currently estimated to include more than 23 species, but only 20 of these are currently described. The common name 'diamond frog' has been proposed and used for membe ...

'' is a miniaturised species, attaining an adult body size of 11–12 mm. It was argued to be a proportional dwarf in its original description, based on its non- paedomorphic proportions compared to similarly sized Cophylinae frogs.

Reproductive Ecology

The mating habits of most species of ''Rhombophryne'' are not known. It is likely that all members of this genus engage in parental care, which is common to most members of the

Cophylinae Cophylinae is a subfamily of Microhylidae, microhylid frogs endemic to Madagascar. It has over 100 species in eight genera. Members of this subfamily range from minute ( 100 mm adult body size), and they are highly ecologically diverse. DNA ...

. Two adult '' R. testudo'' individuals were found together with 18 putative offspring in a burrow by a stream at the edge of

Lokobe Reserve Lokobe National Park is a national park in northwestern Madagascar. It is located on southeastern side of Nosy Be, an island off the coast of Madagascar. It is known for its black lemurs and the beautiful Nosy Be panther chameleon. Black lemur (E ...

on Nosy Be, at the end of the dry season. This is the only direct evidence of reproductive behaviour in this genus. So far, the advertisement calls of eight species have been published: '' R. botabota'', '' R. minuta'', '' R. mangabensis'', '' R. matavy'', '' R. testudo'', '' R. nilevina'', '' R. coronata'', and '' R. proportionalis.'' Most of their calls are honking sounds emitted after quite long intervals, but ''R. minuta'' emits paired notes, and ''R. proportionalis'' emits series of 9–17 notes.

Species

* '' Rhombophryne botabota'' Scherz, Glaw, Vences, Andreone & Crottini, 2016 * '' Rhombophryne coronata'' ( Vences and Glaw, 2003) * ''

Rhombophryne coudreaui ''Rhombophryne coudreaui'' is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to northeastern Madagascar. The specific name ''coudreaui'' honours Jean Coudreau, a colonial forestry administrator in Madagascar who collected the holot ...

'' (Angel, 1938) * ''

Rhombophryne diadema ''Rhombophryne'' is a genus of microhylid frogs endemic to Madagascar. It is currently estimated to include more than 23 species, but only 20 of these are currently described. The common name 'diamond frog' has been proposed and used for members ...

'' Scherz, Hawlitschek, Andreone, Rakotoarison, Vences & Glaw, 2017 * ''

Rhombophryne guentherpetersi ''Rhombophryne guentherpetersi'' is a frog of the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to northern Madagascar and known from the Tsaratanana Massif. It inhabits high-elevation forest and, perhaps, montane grassland, at elevations of above sea lev ...

'' (Guibé, 1974) * ''

Rhombophryne laevipes ''Rhombophryne laevipes'' is a frog of the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to Madagascar and known from localities in northern, eastern, southeastern, and mid-western parts of the island. It might be a species complex, with the "true" ''R. lae ...

'' ( Mocquard, 1895) * '' Rhombophryne longicrus'' Scherz, Rakotoarison, Hawlitschek, Vences & Glaw, 2015 * ''

Rhombophryne mangabensis ''Rhombophryne'' is a genus of microhylid frogs endemic to Madagascar. It is currently estimated to include more than 23 species, but only 20 of these are currently described. The common name 'diamond frog' has been proposed and used for members ...

'' Glaw, Köhler & Vences, 2010 * ''

Rhombophryne matavy ''Rhombophryne'' is a genus of microhylid frogs endemic to Madagascar. It is currently estimated to include more than 23 species, but only 20 of these are currently described. The common name 'diamond frog' has been proposed and used for members ...

'' D'Cruze, Köhler, Vences & Glaw, 2010 * ''

'' (Guibé, 1975) * '' Rhombophryne nilevina'' Lambert, Hutter & Scherz, 2017 * ''

Rhombophryne ornata ''Rhombophryne'' is a genus of microhylid frogs endemic to Madagascar. It is currently estimated to include more than 23 species, but only 20 of these are currently described. The common name 'diamond frog' has been proposed and used for members ...

'' Scherz, Ruthensteiner, Vieites, Vences & Glaw, 2015 *''

'' Scherz, Hutter, Rakotoarison, Riemann, Rödel, Ndriantsoa, Glos, Roberts, Crottini, Vences & Glaw, 2019 * ''

Rhombophryne regalis ''Rhombophryne'' is a genus of microhylid frogs endemic to Madagascar. It is currently estimated to include more than 23 species, but only 20 of these are currently described. The common name 'diamond frog' has been proposed and used for members ...

'' Scherz, Hawlitschek, Andreone, Rakotoarison, Vences & Glaw, 2017 * '' Rhombophryne savaka'' Scherz, Glaw, Vences, Andreone & Crottini, 2016 * ''

Rhombophryne serratopalpebrosa ''Rhombophryne serratopalpebrosa'' is a species of frog of the Madagascar endemic microhylid subfamily Cophylinae. Genetic evidence revealed that it is a species complex, in need of resolution. This work has made significant progress, and five r ...

'' (Guibé, 1975) * ''

Rhombophryne tany ''Rhombophryne'' is a genus of microhylid frogs endemic to Madagascar. It is currently estimated to include more than 23 species, but only 20 of these are currently described. The common name 'diamond frog' has been proposed and used for members ...

'' Scherz, Ruthensteiner, Vieites, Vences & Glaw, 2015 * ''

Rhombophryne testudo ''Rhombophryne testudo'' is a species of frog in the family Microhylidae. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, plantations, and heavily degraded former forest. It is threatened by h ...

'' Boettger, 1880 * ''

Rhombophryne vaventy ''Rhombophryne vaventy'' is a large species of frogs of the Madagascar endemic microhylid subfamily Cophylinae. It is one of the largest members of its genus. Range and distribution ''Rhombophryne vaventy'' is endemic to the Marojejy massif i ...

'' Scherz, Ruthensteiner, Vences & Glaw, 2014 * '' Rhombophryne ellae'' Scherz, 2020

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q926301 Endemic frogs of Madagascar Amphibian genera Taxa named by Oskar Boettger Taxonomy articles created by Polbot