Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniotic, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all tetrapods excluding the amniotes. All extant (living) amphibians belong to the monophyletic subclass Lissamphibia, with three living orders: Anura, Urodela (salamanders), and Gymnophiona (caecilians). Evolved to be mostly semiaquatic, amphibians have adapted to inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living in freshwater, wetland or terrestrial ecosystems. Their life cycle typically starts out as aquatic larvae with gills known as tadpoles, but some species have developed behavioural adaptations to bypass this.
Herpetology is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians and reptiles. Birds, which are cladistically included within Reptilia, are traditionally excluded here; the separate scientific study of birds is the subject of ornithology.
Megophryidae, commonly known as goose frogs, is a large family of frogs native to the warm southeast of Asia, from the Himalayan foothills eastwards, south to Indonesia and the Greater Sunda Islands in Maritime Southeast Asia, and extending to the Philippines. Fossil remains are also known from North America. As of 2014 it encompasses 246 species of frogs divided between five genera. For lack of a better vernacular name, they are commonly called megophryids.
Brook salamanders are a genus, Eurycea, of salamanders native to North America.
Ptychohyla is a genus of frogs in the family Hylidae. These frogs are found in the southern Mexican states of Chiapas, Guerrero, and Oaxaca, and Central America to western Panama.
Pseudacris is a genus of frogs in the family Hylidae found in North America ranging from the Pacific coastline to the Atlantic.
Oedipina complex, commonly known as the Gamboa worm salamander, is a species of lungless salamander found in western South America from Costa Rica to western Colombia and north-western Ecuador. This species inhabits humid tropical lowland forest where it can be found on the ground, and on bushy vegetation, logs and rocks. It can also be found on forest edges, but it does not survive in degraded areas. Deforestation is a threat to this species.
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, Leptodactylidae, and Rhinodermatidae. Of these, the Alsodidae and/or Hylodidae have also been considered as subfamilies of Cycloramphidae ; the Cycloramphidae, as recognized at present, would be similar to subfamily Cycloramphinae under such system.
Nannophrys is a genus of frogs endemic to Sri Lanka. It used to be placed in the large frog family Ranidae but a phylogenetic study was undertaken using DNA sequences and it is now included in the family Dicroglossidae. They are sometimes known under the common name streamlined frogs.
Rhinella pombali is a hybrid species of toad from south-eastern Brazil, named after José Perez Pombal Jr., a Brazilian herpetologist. It was originally described in 2004 as a distinct species, but a genetic study published in 2012 found it to be a hybrid of Rhinella ornata and Rhinella crucifer; it is also morphologically intermediate between these species. It is therefore no longer considered a valid species, although it is still present in some listings.
Paratelmatobius is a genus of frogs in the family Leptodactylidae. They are endemic to southern Brazil.
The Petropedetidae are a family of frogs containing two genera and 11 species. They are found in sub-Saharan tropical Africa and are sometimes known under common name African torrent frogs.
Pseudotriton is a genus of salamanders in the family Plethodontidae. They are endemic to eastern and southern United States, from New York south to Florida and west to southern Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and eastern Louisiana. They are commonly known as red salamanders or mud salamanders.
Craugastoridae, commonly known as fleshbelly frogs, is a family of New World direct-developing frogs. As delineated here, following the Amphibian Species of the World, it contains 129 species. They are found from the southern United States southwards to Central and South America.
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.
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.
The Leiuperinae are a subfamily of frogs in the family Leptodactylidae. Over 90 species are in five genera. The distribution of this subfamily is from southern Mexico to the Central America and much of South America.
AmphibiaWeb is an American non-profit website that provides information about amphibians. It is run by a group of universities working with the California Academy of Sciences: San Francisco State University, the University of California at Berkeley, University of Florida at Gainesville, and University of Texas at Austin.
