Microhylidae

Microhylidae
Temporal range: early Miocene to Recent
24–0 mya
Eastern narrowmouth toad (Gastrophryne)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Amphibia
Order:
Anura
Suborder:
Neobatrachia
Family:
Microhylidae

Günther, 1858
Distribution of Microhylidae (in black)

Microhylidae is a family of frogs. There are 495 species in 68 genera and nine subfamilies. This is the largest number of genera of any frog family.

Description

Microhylids are mostly small frogs. Many species have bodies shorter than 1.5 centimetres (0.59 in) in length from nose to rear end. The largest microhylids are 9 centimetres (3.5 in). They can live in trees or on land. Some will even live close to water. The ground dwellers are often found under leaf litter within forests. The sometimes go out at night to hunt. There are two main shapes for the microhylids. One shape is with wide bodies and narrow mouths. The other shape is the normal frog shape. Those with narrow mouths eat termites and ants, and the others eat the same foods as other frogs.

Reproduction

The microhylids that live in New Guinea and Australia do not have a tadpole stage. Those who live in trees can lay the eggs in trees, and do not ever need to go to the ground. Where species do have tadpoles, these almost always do not have the teeth or horny beak like other tadpoles do.

Taxonomy

Range

Frogs from Microhylidae live throughout the tropical and warm temperate regions of North America, South America, Africa, eastern India, Sri Lanka, south-east Asia, through New Guinea and Australia. Although most are found in tropical or sub-tropical regions, a few species can be found in arid or non-tropical areas. They are the majority frog species in New Guinea and Madagascar.

References

  1. ↑ Blackburn D.C. & Wake D.B. (2011). "Class Amphibia (Gray, 1825). In: Zhang Z.-Q. (ed) Animal biodiversity: An outline of higher-level classification and survey of taxonomic richness" (PDF). Zootaxa. 3148: 39–55. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3148.1.8.
  2. 1 2 Cogger H.G. & Zweifel R.G., ed. (1998). Encyclopedia of reptiles and amphibians. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 102–103. ISBN 0-12-178560-2.
  3. ↑ Gorin, Vladislav A.; Scherz, Mark D.; Korost, Dmitriy V.; Poyarkov, Nikolay A. (2021-12-01). "Consequences of parallel miniaturisation in Microhylinae (Anura, Microhylidae), with the description of a new genus of diminutive South East Asian frogs". Zoosystematics and Evolution. 97 (1): 21–54. doi:10.3897/zse.97.57968. ISSN 1860-0743.