''Thoropa'' 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

Cycloramphidae The Cycloramphidae are a family of frogs endemic to southeastern Brazil. This family has seen large changes in its composition. Genera that have at some point been included in the Cycloramphidae are at present placed in the Alsodidae, Hylodidae ...

. They are

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 eastern and southeastern Brazil. They are sometimes known as river frogs.

Description, ecology, and behavior

''Thoropa'' are associated with rocks and have cryptic coloration. Their size ranges from small to medium, in snout–vent length. They occur at elevations up to

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

; '' Thoropa miliaris'' and '' Thoropa taophora'' can even live on rocky marine shores, foraging in the

intertidal zone The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of habitats with various species o ...

. Male ''Thoropa'' are associated with wet rock faces, whereas the females seem to range more widely. In species where reproduction is known, males are territorial—suitable wet rock faces are a scarce resource. Furthermore, mature male ''Thoropa'' feature characteristic clusters of dark spines on the inner portions of the hand. It appears that these are associated with male-male combat, probably in conjunction with territorial disputes. Scratch marks in males, but not in females, support this interpretation. The eggs are laid on rocks with a thin layer of water. Tadpoles are

semiterrestrial In biology, semiaquatic can refer to various types of animals that spend part of their time in water, or plants that naturally grow partially submerged in water. Examples are given below. Semiaquatic animals Semiaquatic animals include: * Verte ...

and have a depressed shape, long tail, and bulging eyes. Male ''T. taophora'' frogs mate exclusively and repeatedly with two females per season in a

polygynous Polygyny (; from Neoclassical Greek πολυγυνία (); ) is the most common and accepted form of polygamy around the world, entailing the marriage of a man with several women. Incidence Polygyny is more widespread in Africa than in any ...

system in which the semiterrestrial tadpoles from both females share the same freshwater

seep A seep or flush is a moist or wet place where water, usually groundwater, reaches the earth's surface from an underground aquifer. Description Seeps are usually not of sufficient volume to be flowing beyond their immediate above-ground location. ...

. The females have a

dominance hierarchy In biology, a dominance hierarchy (formerly and colloquially called a pecking order) is a type of social hierarchy that arises when members of animal social animal , social groups interact, creating a ranking system. A dominant higher-ranking i ...

, and the males mate more with the dominant female.

Species

The genus contains the following species: * '' Thoropa bryomantis'' Assis, Lacerda, Guimarães, Peixoto, Luna, and Feio, 2021 *'' Thoropa lutzi'' Cochran, 1938 * '' Thoropa megatympanum'' Caramaschi and Sazima, 1984 * '' Thoropa miliaris'' (Spix, 1824) * '' Thoropa petropolitana'' (Wandolleck, 1907) * '' Thoropa saxatilis'' Cocroft and Heyer, 1988 * '' Thoropa taophora'' (Miranda-Ribeiro, 1923)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2148585 Cycloramphidae Amphibian genera Frogs of South America Endemic fauna of Brazil Taxa named by Edward Drinker Cope Taxonomy articles created by Polbot