Mertensophryne

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Mertensophryne
Mertensophryne micranotis.jpeg
Mertensophryne micranotis
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Bufonidae
Genus: Mertensophryne
Tihen, 1960
Type species
Bufo (micranotis) rondoensis
Loveridge, 1942
Species

14 species (see text)

Synonyms [1]

StephopaedesChanning, 1979 "1978"

Mertensophryne is a genus of true toads (family Bufonidae). [1] [2] They are found in eastern and southern Democratic Republic of Congo to Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, southeastern Zimbabwe, and adjacent Mozambique. Their common names include snouted frogs, Chirinda forest toads, and forest toads. [1] The genus is named for Robert Mertens, German zoologist and herpetologist. [3]

Contents

Taxonomy

Mertensophryne, as currently understood, consist of the former "Bufo" taitanus group and the genera Mertensophryne (as formerly defined) and Stephopaedes. [4] The latter is monophyletic and still recognized as a subgenus. The closest relatives of Mertensophryne remain uncertain but probably include Poyntonophrynus , Vandijkophrynus , and Capensibufo . [1]

Description

Mertensophryne lack tympanum and columella. They frequently show digit reduction. [4] They are relatively small frogs; among the ten species studied by Liedtke and colleagues, the maximum female snout–vent length varied between 24 and 46 mm (0.9 and 1.8 in). Eggs are relatively large, 1.8–2.5 mm (0.1–0.1 in) in diameter, and few in number (maximum 35–188). [5]

Species

There are 14 recognized species: [1] [2]

Binomial Name and AuthorCommon Name
Mertensophryne anotis (Boulenger, 1907)Mashonaland toad
Mertensophryne howelli (Poynton and Clarke, 1999)Mrora forest toad
Mertensophryne lindneri (Mertens, 1955)Dar es Salaam toad
Mertensophryne lonnbergi (Andersson, 1911)Lonberg's toad
Mertensophryne loveridgei (Poynton, 1991)Mahenge toad
Mertensophryne melanopleura (Schmidt and Inger, 1959)Kankunde toad
Mertensophryne micranotis (Loveridge, 1925)Loveridges snouted toad
Mertensophryne mocquardi (Angel, 1924)Mocquards toad
Mertensophryne nairobiensis (Loveridge, 1932)Nairobi toad
Mertensophryne nyikae (Loveridge, 1953)Nyika dwarf toad
Mertensophryne schmidti Grandison, 1972Schmidt's snouted frog
Mertensophryne taitana (Peters, 1878)Black-chested dwarf toad
Mertensophryne usambarae (Poynton and Clarke, 1999)Usambara forest toad
Mertensophryne uzunguensis (Loveridge, 1932)Uzungwe toad

Related Research Articles

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Adelophryne is a genus of frogs in the family Eleutherodactylidae. They are native to northern South America east of the Andes, known roughly from the area corresponding to the Guiana Shield, as well as to the coastal area of Bahia, Brazil. Whether the genus is truly distinct from Phyzelaphryne remains uncertain. Common name shield frogs has been proposed for this genus, although the stem flea frog is used for some species.

<i>Pelophryne</i> Genus of amphibians

Pelophryne, commonly known as flathead toads or dwarf toads, is a genus of true toads, family Bufonidae. The genus occurs in the Philippines, Borneo, Malaya including Singapore, and Hainan (China). Molecular data suggest that Pelophryne is the sister taxon of Ansonia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodhouse's toad</span> Species of amphibian

Woodhouse's toad is a medium-sized true toad native to the United States and Mexico. There are three recognized subspecies. A. woodhousii tends to hybridize with Anaxyrus americanus where their ranges overlap.

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<i>Phrynoidis juxtasper</i> Species of amphibian

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<i>Rhinella proboscidea</i> Species of amphibian

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Four-digit toad</span> Species of amphibian

The four-digit toad or dwarf toad is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is found in Bioko, southwestern Cameroon, and southeastern Nigeria. It is the only species in the genus Didynamipus.

Pelophryne api, also known as Api dwarf toad, is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is endemic to Borneo and known from Gunung Mulu National Park in northern Sarawak and from Simpang Kuda in Bau District, western Sarawak. Its genetic divergence from Pelophryne guentheri is relatively low and these species could be conspecific.

<i>Pelophryne misera</i> Species of amphibian

Pelophryne misera, the black flathead toad or Kinabalu dwarf toad, is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is endemic to northwestern Borneo and known from Sabah and Sarawak (Malaysia), although its distribution is likely to be broader and might extend to Kalimantan (Indonesia). It was first described from specimens collected from Mount Kinabalu.

The Chirinda toad, Chrinda forest toad, Mashonaland toad or Boulenger's earless toad is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae with a restricted distribution in eastern Zimbabwe and western Mozambique.

Mertensophryne howelli is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is endemic to the coast of Tanzania and known from the Mafia Island and Zanzibar. The species is named after professor Kim Howell for his contributions to the herpetology of Tanzania.

<i>Mertensophryne usambarae</i> Species of amphibian

Mertensophryne usambarae is a critically endangered species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is endemic to the foothills of the East Usambara Mountains, northeastern Tanzania.

<i>Sclerophrys</i> Genus of amphibians

Sclerophrys is a genus of "true toads", family Bufonidae, native to Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula. Originally, all of these species were classified in the genus Bufo. The genus, originally named Amietophrynus, was split due to large enough taxonomic divergence. Ohler and Dubois showed in 2016 that Sclerophrys capensis Tschudi, 1838 is the same species as Bufo regularis rangeri Hewitt, 1935, the type species of Amietophrynus. Because the former name is older, the implication is that Amietophrynus is a junior synonym of Sclerophrys.

<i>Nimbaphrynoides</i> Genus of amphibians

Nimbaphrynoides is a monotypic genus of true toads from highlands in the Mount Nimba region of the West African countries of Guinea, Liberia, and Côte d'Ivoire. The sole species is Nimbaphrynoides occidentalis. Along with Nectophrynoides, Eleutherodactylus jasperi, and Limnonectes larvaepartus, Nimbaphrynoides is one of the only anurans that combine internal fertilization with ovoviparity.

<i>Incilius</i> Genus of amphibians

Incilius is genus of toads in the true toad family, Bufonidae. They are sometimes known as the Central American toads or Middle American toads and are found in southern USA, Mexico, Central America, and northern Pacific South America. They are an ecologically and biogeographically diverse group of toads, including micro-endemic species such as Incilius spiculatus that are restricted to undisturbed cloud forests, and widespread lowland species such as Incilius valliceps that predominantly occur in disturbed habitats.

<i>Xanthophryne</i> Genus of amphibians

Xanthophryne is a small genus of toads in the family Bufonidae. They are endemic to the Western Ghats in Maharashtra, India. Its sister taxon is Duttaphrynus. The name Xanthophryne is derived from two Greek words, xanthos meaning yellow and phryne meaning toad.

<i>Poyntonophrynus</i> Genus of amphibians

Poyntonophrynus, also known as pygmy toads, are a genus consisting of ten true toad species native to Sub-Saharan Africa. Originally, all Poyntonophrynus species were included in the genus Bufo. The genus was split due to large enough taxonomic divergence as evidenced by molecular markers. The genus is named in honour of John C. Poynton, South African herpetologist, with phrynus being Greek for toad.

<i>Phrynoidis</i> Genus of amphibians

Phrynoidis is a small genus of true toads, family Bufonidae. They are found in Mainland Southeast Asia and the Greater Sundas. They are sometimes known as the rough toads or river toads.

Sabahphrynus is a monotypic genus of amphibians in the family Bufonidae. The sole species is Sabahphrynus maculatus, also known as the spotted Asian tree toad or Sabah earless toad. It is endemic to Borneo where it is only known from Sabah, East Malaysia.

<i>Rentapia</i> Genus of amphibians

Rentapia is a genus of true toads, family Bufonidae. It is endemic to Southeast Asia and occurs in the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, and Sumatra. It was erected in 2016 resolve the polyphyly of Pedostibes.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Frost, Darrel R. (2017). "Mertensophryne Tihen, 1960". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Bufonidae". AmphibiaWeb. University of California, Berkeley. 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  3. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael & Grayson, Michael (2013). The Eponym Dictionary of Amphibians. Pelagic Publishing. p. 141. ISBN   978-1-907807-42-8.
  4. 1 2 Frost, D. R.; Grant, T.; Faivovich, J. N.; Bain, R. H.; Haas, A.; Haddad, C. F. B.; De Sá, R. O.; Channing, A.; Wilkinson, M.; Donnellan, S. C.; Raxworthy, C. J.; Campbell, J. A.; Blotto, B. L.; Moler, P.; Drewes, R. C.; Nussbaum, R. A.; Lynch, J. D.; Green, D. M. & Wheeler, W. C. (2006). "The amphibian tree of life". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 297: 1–291. doi:10.1206/0003-0090(2006)297[0001:TATOL]2.0.CO;2. hdl:2246/5781. S2CID   86140137.
  5. Liedtke, H. Christoph; Müller, Hendrik; Hafner, Julian; Nagel, Peter & Loader, Simon P. (2014). "Interspecific patterns for egg and clutch sizes of African Bufonidae (Amphibia: Anura)". Zoologischer Anzeiger. 253 (4): 309–315. doi:10.1016/j.jcz.2014.02.003.