Arthroleptidae

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Arthroleptidae
Leptopelis uluguruensis femelle enceinte.jpg
Leptopelis uluguruensis
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Clade: Afrobatrachia
Family: Arthroleptidae
Mivart, 1869
Genera

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The Arthroleptidae /ˌɑːrθrˈlɛptɪd/ are a family of frogs found in sub-Saharan Africa. This group includes African treefrogs in the genus Leptopelis along with the terrestrial breeding squeakers Arthroleptis , and several genera restricted to the Guinean forests of central and west Africa, such as the hairy frog (Trichobatrachus).

Contents

Taxonomy

This family is the phylogenetic sister group of reed frogs, the Hyperoliidae, which together form the lineage Laurentobatrachia, [1] a name that commemorates work on African frogs by the Argentine herpetologist Raymond Laurent. This group is further nested within the Afrobatrachia, an ancient African endemic lineage that includes the Brevicipitidae and Hemisotidae. [1] The Arthroleptidae are separated, based on phylogenetic analyses, into three deeply divergent and dissimilar subfamilies: Arthroleptinae, Astylosterninae, and Leptopelinae. [2] [3] Some consider these to be separate families, [4] while others do not recognize any subfamilies, in particular due to uncertainty in the phylogenetic placement of Leptopelis and Scotobleps. [5] [6]

The three subfamilies consist of these genera: [3]

SubfamiliaSpeciesCommon nameScientific name
Arthroleptinae
Mivart, 1869
48Screeching frogs Arthroleptis Smith, 1849
19Long-fingered frogs Cardioglossa Boulenger, 1900
Astylosterninae
Noble, 1927
12Night frogs Astylosternus Werner, 1898
15Egg frogs Leptodactylodon Andersson, 1903
1Southern night frog Nyctibates Boulenger, 1904
1Gaboon forest frog Scotobleps Boulenger, 1900
1Hairy frog Trichobatrachus Boulenger, 1900
Leptopelinae
Laurent, 1972
54Forest treefrogs Leptopelis Günther, 1859

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhinophrynidae</span> Family of amphibians

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ceratophryidae</span> Family of amphibians

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cycloramphidae</span> Family of amphibians

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<i>Arthroleptis</i> Genus of amphibians

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aromobatidae</span> Family of amphibians

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Leptopelis aubryi, also known as the Aubry's tree frog and Gaboon forest treefrog, is a species of frog in the family Arthroleptidae. It is found in southeastern Nigeria, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, western and northern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Angola.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broadley's forest tree frog</span> Species of amphibian

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<i>Leptopelis flavomaculatus</i> Species of amphibian

Leptopelis flavomaculatus is a species of frog in the family Arthroleptidae. It is found in the lowlands eastern and southern Africa, from Mozambique north of the Save River and Zimbabwe to Malawi, eastern Tanzania, and coastal Kenya. Its common names are yellow-spotted tree frog, brown-backed tree frog, brown forest treefrog, and Johnston's treefrog.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dicroglossidae</span> Family of fork-tongued frogs

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craugastoridae</span> Family of amphibians

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hylinae</span> Subfamily of amphibians

Hylinae is a large subfamily of "tree frogs", family Hylidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alsodidae</span> Family of amphibians

The Alsodidae are a small family of frogs from South America between Patagonia and southern Brazil. It contains 30 species in three genera. This family, along with several other families, used to be included in the family Leptodactylidae. It was then a subfamily in the family Cycloramphidae, before being recognized as a family first in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Odontophrynidae</span> Family of amphibians

The Odontophrynidae are a family of frogs from southern and eastern South America. This family was first established in 1969 as the tribe Odontophrynini within the (then) very large family Leptodactylidae. Molecular phylogenetics analyses prompted the move of this group to the Cycloramphidae in 2006, before they became recognized as their own family Odontophrynidae in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hylodidae</span> Family of amphibians

Hylodidae, commonly known as giant Neotropical torrent frogs, is a family of frogs native to Brazil and northern Argentina. Phylogenetic evidence suggests the Hylodidae being the sister group to the Alsodidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leiuperinae</span> Subfamily of amphibians

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References

  1. 1 2 Frost, Darrel R; Grant, Tarrant; Faivovich, Julian; Bain, Raoul H; Haas, Alexander; Haddad, Celio FB; De Sa, Rafael; Channing, Alan; Wilkinson, Mark; Donnellan, Stephen C; Raxworthy, Christopher J; Campbell, Jonathan A; Blotto, Boris L; Moler, Paul; Drewes, Robert C; Nussbaum, Ronald A; Lynch, John D; Green, David M; Wheeler, Ward C (2006). "The Amphibian Tree of Life". Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. (297): 370pp.
  2. Pyron, RA; Wiens, JJ (2011). "A large-scale phylogeny of Amphibia including over 2800 species, and a revised classification of extant frogs, salamanders, and caecilians". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 61 (2): 543–583. Bibcode:2011MolPE..61..543A. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2011.06.012 . PMID   21723399.
  3. 1 2 Frost, Darrel R. (2014). "Arthroleptidae Mivart, 1869". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  4. Bossuyt, F; Roelants, K (2009). Hedges, SB; Kumar, S (eds.). Anura. New York, USA: Oxford University Press. pp. 357–364.
  5. Blackburn, David C. "Family Arthroleptidae". AmphibiaWeb. University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  6. 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.

^ *" 'Horror frog' breaks own bones to produce claws." NewScientist.com, 2008

Further information