Saddleback toad
| Saddleback toads | |
|---|---|
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| Spix’s saddleback toad, Brachycephalus ephippium | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Suborder: | Neobatrachia |
| Family: | Brachycephalidae Günther, 1858 |
| Genus: | Brachycephalus Fitzinger, 1826 |
| Species | |
 | |
| Distribution of Brachycephalus (in black) | |
The saddleback toads are the family Brachycephalidae /ˈbrækɨsɛˈfælɨdiː/ in the order Anura. As traditionally defined, the family is often limited to just one genus, Brachycephalus, but it is closely related to Ischnocnema, which therefore is placed in the family in recent treatments.[1][2] Brachycephalus species are tiny, often yellow frogs that are native to Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil. In at least one species, B. ephippium, the bright colours are aposematic, warning potential predators of its toxicity, specifically tetrodotoxin.[3]
Brachycephalus species are very small frogs, up to 1.8 cm (0.71 in) in length (mostly around 1 cm or 0.39 in), and include the smallest frog in the Southern Hemisphere, Izecksohn's toad (Brachycephalus didactylus).[4] They have only three toes on each foot, and two fingers on each hand. This is in contrast to the usual five toes and four fingers of most frogs.
Brachycephalus species are active during the day, and live in the leaf litter on forest floors. The eggs undergo direct development, hatching into miniature frogs, without a tadpole stage.[4] The eggs are laid on the ground, and covered in soil to protect them from the heat and predators. Their amplexus method is unusual, in that it begins with inguinal amplexus, with the male holding the female around the waist, and then shifts to axillary amplexus, in which the male grips above the female's arms. Most frogs species only use one technique.
Classification
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Family BRACHYCEPHALIDAE
- Genus Brachycephalus
- Brachycephalus alipioi Pombal & Gasparini, 2006
- Brachycephalus brunneus Ribeiro et al., 2005
- Izecksohn’s toad, Brachycephalus didactylus (Izecksohn, 1971)
- Spix’s saddleback toad, Brachycephalus ephippium (Spix, 1824)
- Brachycephalus ferruginus Alves, Ribeiro, Haddad et al., 2006
- Brachycephalus guarani Clemente-Carvalho et al., 2012
- Brachycephalus hermogenesi (Giaretta et Sawaya, 1998)
- Brachycephalus izecksohni Ribeiro et al., 2005
- Brachycephalus margaritatus Pombal & Izecksohn, 2011
- Serra Cantareira saddleback toad, Brachycephalus nodoterga Miranda-Ribeiro, 1920
- Brachycephalus pernix Pombal, Wistuba, and Bornschein, 1998
- Brachycephalus pitanga Alves, Sawaya, Reis, and Haddad, 2009
- Brachycephalus pombali Alves, Ribeiro, Haddad et al., 2006
- Brachycephalus pulex Napoli, Caramschi, Cruz & Dias, 2011[5]
- Brachycephalus toby Haddad et al., 2010
- Brachycephalus vertebralis Pombal, 2001
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brachycephalus. |
- ↑ AmphibiaWeb (2013). Brachycephalidae. Retrieved 29 January 2013
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Pires Jr., Sebbena, Schwartza, Larguraa, Bloch Jr., Moralesa, and Schwartza (2002). Occurrence of tetrodotoxin and its analogues in the Brazilian frog Brachycephalus ephippium (Anura: Brachycephalidae). Toxicon 40(6): 761-766
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Zweifel, Richard G. (1998). Cogger, H.G. & Zweifel, R.G., ed. Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 103. ISBN 0-12-178560-2.
- ↑ Napoli, M.F., Caramaschi, U., Cruz, C.A.G., & Dias, I.R. "A new species of flea-toad, genus Brachycephalus Fitzinger (Amphibia: Anura: Brachycephalidae), from the Atlantic rainforest of southern Bahia, Brazil." Zootaxa 2739 (2011): 33-40.
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