Sooglossidae

The Seychelles Frogs (Sooglossidae) are a family of frogs found on the Seychelles Islands and India. Until recently this family was believed to include the genera Nesomantis and Sooglossus, but following a major revision of amphibians in 2006^[1] the genus Nesomantis was named a junior synonym of Sooglossus; conversely, the recently-discovered Purple Frog which was initially assigned to a distinct monotypic family (Nasikabatrachidae) is now included in the Sooglossidae.^[2]

All of the species are relatively small terrestrial frogs, about 4 centimetres (1.6 in) in length, hiding under fallen leaves or in rock crevices. They are unusual for the Neobatrachials, in that they undertaking inguinal amplexus, a primitive version of amplexus. They lay their eggs on moist ground, rather than in water. One species lacks tadpoles, with the eggs hatching directly into froglets, while the others carry the tadpoles on their back until metamorphosis.^[3]

There is no fossil record for the family. Ancestors diverged when the Seychelles Islands split from India about 100 million years BCE.

Taxonomy

The family was first described in 1931 by Gladwyn Kingsley Noble (1894-1940).

• Genus Sooglossus (Seychelles Frogs)
  • Gardiner's Seychelles Frog (S. gardineri)
  • Seychelles Palm Frog (S. pipilodryas)
  • Seychelles Frog (S. sechellensis)
  • Thomasset's Frog (S. thomasseti)

• Genus Nasikabatrachus (Purple Frog)
  • Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis

References