The southern frogs form the Leptodactylidae, a name that comes from Greek meaning a bird or other animal having slender toes. They are a diverse family of frogs that most likely diverged from other hyloids during the Cretaceous. The family has undergone major taxonomic revisions in recent years, including the reclassification of the former subfamily Eleutherodactylinae into its own family the Eleutherodactylidae; the Leptodactylidae now number 206 species in 13 genera distributed throughout Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. The family includes terrestrial, burrowing, aquatic, and arboreal members, inhabiting a wide range of habitats.
The Tukeit Hill frogs are three species of frog in the genus Allophryne. Originally erected for the species Allophryne ruthveni, the genus was placed as the only member of the subfamily Allophryninae, which was in turn placed in the family Centrolenidae, but they are now considered as the only genus in the monotypic family Allophrynidae.
The Arthroleptidae 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).
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.
Eupsophus is a genus of frogs in the family Alsodidae. They are sometimes known as ground frogs. The genus is endemic to Patagonia. Eupsophus is the second most species-rich frog genera of Patagonia. These frogs are restricted to forested areas at southern latitudes.
Edalorhina is a small genus of leptodactylid frogs. They are found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and western Brazil. They are sometimes known as the snouted frogs.
Plethodontohyla is a genus of microhylid frogs endemic to Madagascar.
The Aromobatidae are a family of frogs native to Central and South America. They are sometimes referred to as cryptic forest frogs or cryptic poison frogs. They are the sister taxon of the Dendrobatidae, the poison dart frogs, but are not as toxic as most dendrobatids are.
Edalorhina perezi is a species of frog in the family Leptodactylidae. It is one of the only two species in the genus Edalorhina in the family Leptodactylidae. This species is diurnal and terrestrial. During mating season both female and male frogs gather around treefall pools. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, and possibly Bolivia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, and freshwater marshes. The species listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List and the population is stable.
Engystomops petersi is a species of frog in the family Leptodactylidae. It is found in Amazonian Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. It is morphologically similar to its sibling species, Engystomops freibergi, and for a period the latter was considered to be a junior synonym of Engystomops petersi. Taxonomy and classification of this species is constantly changing due to the continual evolution of behavioral isolation and rapid speciation in the region. There are also records from the Guianas that have not yet been allocated to either species. Divergence of these two species seems to have been driven by behavioural isolation related to male call characteristics more than geographic isolation.
Engystomops pustulatus is a species of frog in the family Leptodactylidae. It is known with certainty from western Ecuador, whereas the status of Peruvian records is ambiguous as they may refer to an undescribed species or possibly Engystomops puyango. Nevertheless, given that E. pustulatus is now known from Huaquillas in southern Ecuador, near the Peruvian border, it is likely to be found in Peru too.
The Petropedetidae are a family of frogs containing three genera and 12 species. They are found in sub-Saharan tropical Africa and are sometimes known under common name African torrent frogs.
Nyctibatrachidae is a small family of frogs found in the Western Ghats of India and in Sri Lanka. Their common name is robust frogs. Recognition of Nyctibatrachidae as a family is fairly recent. These frogs were previously placed in the broadly defined family Ranidae, which was more recently divided into three subfamilies: Lankanectinae, Nyctibatrachinae, and Astrobatrachinae.
The frog family Dicroglossidae occurs in tropical and subtropical regions of Asia and Africa, with most genera and species being found in Asia. The common name of the family is fork-tongued frogs.
Brevicipitidae or rain frogs is a small family of frogs found in eastern and southern Africa. As of 2020 contains 37 species in 5 genera. Formerly included as subfamily in Microhylidae, phylogenetic research has indicated the brevicipitine frogs should be considered as a family with Hemisotidae as the most closely related sister taxon.
Hylinae is a large subfamily of "tree frogs", family Hylidae.
Dendrobatinae is the main subfamily of frogs in the family Dendrobatidae, the poison dart frogs of Central and South America, found from Nicaragua to the Amazon basin in Brazil.
Engystomops is a genus of frogs in the family Leptodactylidae. They are known commonly as foam frogs or túngara frogs, though the latter name most commonly refers to Engystomops pustulosus. They are native to the Americas from southern Mexico south to the Amazon Basin.
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.
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.
