Cophylinae

Cophylinae
Anodonthyla boulengerii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Microhylidae
Subfamily: Cophylinae
Cope, 1889
Type genus
Cophyla
Boettger, 1880
Genera

7 genera with 64 species, see article.

Cophylinae is a subfamily of microhylid frogs endemic to Madagascar. It has at least 64 species in seven genera.[1]

Genera

As of early 2014, the following genera are recognized:[1]

Biology

Cophylines are characterized by a derived mode of larval development: whereas most microhylids have a specialized filter-feeding tadpole, cophylines have non-feeding tadpoles that develop either in tree holes, terrestrial foam nests, or terrestrial jelly nests.[2] Most cophylines have very simple advertisement calls, consisting of single melodious notes that are repeated after regular intervals and for long periods of time, usually lasting several minutes. Correlated to the reproductive mode of the various cophyline lineages is their arboreal versus terrestrial or fossorial ecology, and apparently, multiple evolutionary shifts between arboreal and terrestrial habits have occurred in this subfamily.[3]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Frost, Darrel R. (2014). "Cophylinae Cope, 1889". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  2. ↑ Blommers-Schlösser RMA (1975). "Observations on the larval development of some Malagasy frogs, with notes on their ecology and biology (Anura: Dyscophinae, Scaphiophryninae and Cophylinae)". Beaufortia 24: 7–26.
  3. ↑ Andreone F; Vences M; Vieites DR; Glaw F; Meyer M (2005). "Recurrent ecological adaptations revealed through a molecular analysis of the secretive cophyline frogs of Madagascar". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 34: 315–322. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2004.10.013.

Bibliography