''Stefania'' is a genus of frogs in the family Hemiphractidae. They are native to the highlands of the

Guiana Shield The Guiana Shield (french: Plateau des Guyanes, Bouclier guyanais; nl, Hoogland van Guyana, Guianaschild; pt, Planalto das Guianas, Escudo das Guianas; es, Escudo guayanés) is one of the three cratons of the South American Plate. It is a ...

in southern Venezuela,

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

, and adjacent far northern Brazil. Most are restricted to the tepui highlands, but '' S. evansi'' also occurs in lowlands. On most mountains there are only 1–2 species from this genus, but five are known from

Mount Ayanganna Mount Ayanganna is a sandstone tepui in the Pakaraima Mountains of western Guyana, and located east of Mount Roraima. With a height of it is the easternmost tepui taller than . It is part of the Guiana Shield and Guyana Highlands. Ecology Th ...

and the neighbouring

Mount Wokomung Mount Wokomung is a sandstone tepui in the Pakaraima Mountains of western Guyana, the summit is 1700 metres. Together with Mount Ayanganna, 37 km to the north, Wokomung constitutes the easternmost tepui reaching above 1500 metres. The slo ...

has six species. They are usually found near streams at low levels on branches/leaves or on the ground among vegetation/rocks. They are famous for their breeding strategy where the development from eggs to froglets is completed on the back of the female (the eggs hatch to froglets; there is no free-swimming tadpole stage). The common name carrying frog is sometimes used for ''Stefania'' species and it refers to this behavior. A comparable behavior can also be seen in the other genera in the family Hemiphractidae.

Species

There are 19 ''Stefania'' species:

References

Hemiphractidae Amphibians of South America Amphibian genera Taxa named by Juan A. Rivero Amphibians of the Tepuis {{Hemiphractidae-stub