Aromobatidae

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Aromobatidae
Allobates femoralis.jpg
Allobates femoralis
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Superfamily: Dendrobatoidea
Family: Aromobatidae
Grant  [ fr; es ], Frost, Caldwell, Gagliardo, Haddad  [ fr ], Kok, Means, Noonan, Schargel, and Wheeler  [ fr ], 2006 [1]
Subfamilies and genera

The Aromobatidae are a family of frogs native to Central and South America. [2] [3] [4] They are sometimes referred to as cryptic forest frogs or cryptic poison frogs. [2] They are the sister taxon of the Dendrobatidae, the poison dart frogs, but are not as toxic as most dendrobatids are. [1] [4]

Contents

Taxonomy

The Aromobatidae were separated from the Dendrobatidae only in 2006, [1] and some sources continue to treat these frogs as part of the Dendrobatidae. [5] However, their position as the sister taxa is well supported, and the question is primarily about whether they should be ranked as a family or a subfamily. [3]

The validity of subfamilies within the Aromobatidae is also unsettled. Some evidence points to paraphyly of at least the subfamily Anomaloglossinae, and genus Allobates , largely because of the uncertain placement of Allobates olfersioides . [2] [3]

Some species are reported to have a skunk like odor. This strong odor is secreted through the skin but these frogs are not toxic. This strong odor is used as a defense mechanism against predators. [5]

Reproduction

Many aromobatids deposit small clutches of eggs in terrestrial nests. After hatching, one of the parents transports the tadpoles to a small water body, where they complete their development to metamorphosis. [4]

Anomaloglossus stepheni , Anomaloglossus degranvillei , Allobates chalcopis , and Allobates nidicola are four aromobatid species that have non-feeding tadpoles. [4]

Subfamilies and species

By late 2019, 126 species in three subfamilies and five genera had been described: [2]

In addition, "Prostherapis" dunni Rivero, 1961 is placed in this family, but its more precise placement is unknown; it might be an Aromobates. [6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Grant, Taran; Frost, Darrel R.; Caldwell, Janalee P.; Gagliardo, Ron; Haddad, Célio F.B.; Kok, Philippe J.R.; Means, D. Bruce; Noonan, Brice P.; Schargel, Walter E. & Wheeler, Ward C. (2006). "Phylogenetic systematics of dart-poison frogs and their relatives (Amphibia: Athesphatanura: Dendrobatidae)" (PDF). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 299: 1–262. doi:10.1206/0003-0090(2006)299[1:PSODFA]2.0.CO;2. S2CID   82263880. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-02-21.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Frost, Darrel R. (2019). "Aromobatidae Grant, Frost, Caldwell, Gagliardo, Haddad, Kok, Means, Noonan, Schargel, and Wheeler, 2006". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 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.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Vitt, Laurie J. & Caldwell, Janalee P. (2014). Herpetology: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles (4th ed.). Academic Press. pp. 486–488.
  5. 1 2 "Dendrobatidae". AmphibiaWeb. University of California, Berkeley. 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  6. ↑ Frost, Darrel R. (2019). ""Prostherapis" dunni Rivero, 1961". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
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