AmphibiaWeb - Brachycephalidae
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  Brachycephalidae (see family information on Tree of Life site)

49 species in 2 genera

This family is an assemblage of direct-developing frogs from Brazil and northern Argentina, and is composed of two genera, Brachycephalus and Ischnocnema. The family Brachycephalidae is defined primarily by molecular characters; no unique morphological characters are shared by these genera. Members of this family range in size from 10.2 mm SVL in females of Brachycephalus didactylus to 54 mm in females of Ischnocnema guentheri (Hedges et al. 2008).

Frogs of the genus Brachycephalus are known as “Saddle-back Toads,” due to the presence of bony shields above their vertebrae, or “Pumpkin Toads,” from the bright orange coloration of some of the members of this family. At first they were considered to be Bufonids, but absence of a Bidder’s organ (ovarian tissue on the testes, a synapomorphy of Bufonidae) led to their recognition as an independent family. Due to their small size and large genomes (an amphibian characteristic), these frogs have “lost” some of their digits (2 on the hand and 3 or 4 on the feet). These frogs are direct developers with inguinal or axillary amplexus. Brachycephalus ephippium is known to possess tetrodotoxin, a strong toxin also found in newts of the genus Taricha and in puffer fish.


Brachycephalus ephippium
Photo by Germano Woehl Jr.
(Click for details)

Frogs of the genus Ischnocnema are found throughout the Atlantic Coastal Forest in eastern Brazil, and in the Araucaria forest in extreme southeastern Brazil and northern Argentina (Hedges et al. 2008).

Literature cited:
Hedges, S. B., Duellman, W. E., and Heinicke, M. P. (2008). New World direct-developing frogs (Anura: Terrarana): Molecular phylogeny, classification, biogeography, and conservation. Zootaxa 1737: 1-182.

Genus Brachycephalus (14 species)
Brachycephalus alipioi no English account no non-English accountno photos no sound/video
Brachycephalus brunneus no English account no non-English accountno photos no sound/video
Brachycephalus didactylus no English account no non-English accountno photos no sound/video
Brachycephalus ephippium English account no non-English accountphotos no sound/video
Brachycephalus ferruginus no English account no non-English accountno photos no sound/video
Brachycephalus hermogenesi English account no non-English accountphotos no sound/video
Brachycephalus izecksohni no English account no non-English accountno photos no sound/video
Brachycephalus nodoterga no English account no non-English accountphotos no sound/video
Brachycephalus pernix English account no non-English accountno photos no sound/video
Brachycephalus pitanga no English account no non-English accountphotos no sound/video
Brachycephalus pombali no English account no non-English accountno photos no sound/video
Brachycephalus pulex no English account no non-English accountno photos no sound/video
Brachycephalus toby no English account no non-English accountno photos no sound/video
Brachycephalus vertebralis no English account no non-English accountno photos no sound/video

Genus Ischnocnema (35 species)
Ischnocnema abdita no English account no non-English accountno photos no sound/video
Ischnocnema bilineata no English account no non-English accountphotos no sound/video
Ischnocnema bolbodactyla no English account no non-English accountno photos sound/video
Ischnocnema concolor no English account no non-English accountno photos no sound/video
Ischnocnema epipeda no English account no non-English accountno photos no sound/video
Ischnocnema erythromera no English account no non-English accountno photos no sound/video
Ischnocnema gehrti no English account no non-English accountno photos no sound/video
Ischnocnema gualteri no English account no non-English accountno photos no sound/video
Ischnocnema guentheri English account no non-English accountphotos sound/video
Ischnocnema henselii no English account no non-English accountphotos no sound/video
Ischnocnema hoehnei no English account no non-English accountphotos no sound/video
Ischnocnema holti English account no non-English accountphotos sound/video
Ischnocnema izecksohni no English account no non-English accountphotos no sound/video
Ischnocnema juipoca no English account no non-English accountphotos no sound/video
Ischnocnema lactea no English account no non-English accountno photos no sound/video
Ischnocnema manezinho no English account no non-English accountphotos no sound/video
Ischnocnema melanopygia no English account no non-English accountno photos no sound/video
Ischnocnema nasuta no English account no non-English accountphotos no sound/video
Ischnocnema nigriventris no English account no non-English accountno photos no sound/video
Ischnocnema octavioi no English account no non-English accountno photos no sound/video
Ischnocnema oea no English account no non-English accountphotos no sound/video
Ischnocnema paranaensis no English account no non-English accountno photos no sound/video
Ischnocnema parva no English account no non-English accountphotos no sound/video
Ischnocnema paulodutrai no English account no non-English accountphotos no sound/video
Ischnocnema penaxavantinho no English account no non-English accountphotos sound/video
Ischnocnema pusilla no English account no non-English accountno photos no sound/video
Ischnocnema ramagii no English account no non-English accountphotos no sound/video
Ischnocnema randorum no English account no non-English accountphotos no sound/video
Ischnocnema sambaqui no English account no non-English accountno photos no sound/video
Ischnocnema spanios no English account no non-English accountno photos no sound/video
Ischnocnema surda no English account no non-English accountno photos no sound/video
Ischnocnema venancioi no English account no non-English accountno photos no sound/video
Ischnocnema verrucosa no English account no non-English accountphotos no sound/video
Ischnocnema vinhai no English account no non-English accountphotos no sound/video
Ischnocnema vizottoi no English account no non-English accountno photos no sound/video


Citation: AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. [web application]. 2012. Berkeley, California: AmphibiaWeb. Available: http://amphibiaweb.org/. (Accessed: 2012).

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