Brachycephalidae (see family information on Tree of Life site)
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 (12 species)
Brachycephalus alipioi no species account no photos no range maps no sounds Brachycephalus brunneus no species account no photos no range maps no sounds Brachycephalus didactylus no species account no photos no range maps no sounds Brachycephalus ephippium species account photos no range maps no sounds Brachycephalus ferruginus no species account no photos no range maps no sounds Brachycephalus hermogenesi species account photos no range maps no sounds Brachycephalus izecksohni no species account no photos no range maps no sounds Brachycephalus nodoterga no species account photos no range maps no sounds Brachycephalus pernix species account no photos no range maps no sounds Brachycephalus pitanga no species account no photos no range maps no sounds Brachycephalus pombali no species account no photos no range maps no sounds Brachycephalus vertebralis no species account no photos no range maps no sounds
Genus Ischnocnema (30 species)
Ischnocnema bilineata no species account no photos no range maps no sounds Ischnocnema bolbodactyla no species account no photos no range maps sounds Ischnocnema epipeda no species account no photos no range maps no sounds Ischnocnema erythromera no species account no photos no range maps no sounds Ischnocnema gehrti no species account no photos no range maps no sounds Ischnocnema gualteri no species account no photos no range maps no sounds Ischnocnema guentheri species account photos no range maps sounds Ischnocnema henselii no species account photos no range maps no sounds Ischnocnema hoehnei no species account photos no range maps no sounds Ischnocnema holti species account no photos no range maps no sounds Ischnocnema izecksohni no species account photos no range maps no sounds Ischnocnema juipoca no species account photos no range maps no sounds Ischnocnema lactea no species account no photos no range maps no sounds Ischnocnema manezinho no species account photos no range maps no sounds Ischnocnema nasuta no species account no photos no range maps no sounds Ischnocnema nigriventris no species account no photos no range maps no sounds Ischnocnema octavioi no species account no photos no range maps no sounds Ischnocnema oea no species account no photos no range maps no sounds Ischnocnema paranaensis no species account no photos no range maps no sounds Ischnocnema parva no species account photos no range maps no sounds Ischnocnema paulodutrai no species account no photos no range maps no sounds Ischnocnema penaxavantinho no species account no photos no range maps no sounds Ischnocnema pusilla no species account no photos no range maps no sounds Ischnocnema ramagii no species account no photos no range maps no sounds Ischnocnema randorum no species account no photos no range maps no sounds Ischnocnema sambaqui no species account no photos no range maps no sounds Ischnocnema spanios no species account no photos no range maps no sounds Ischnocnema venancioi no species account no photos no range maps no sounds Ischnocnema verrucosa no species account photos no range maps no sounds Ischnocnema vinhai no species account no photos no range maps no sounds
Citation: AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. [web application]. 2009. Berkeley, California: AmphibiaWeb. Available: http://amphibiaweb.org/. (Accessed: 2009).
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