Boophis
Encyclopedia
Boophis is a frog
Frog
Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...

 genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Mantellidae
Mantellidae
Mantellidae is a family of the order Anura. These frogs are found only in Madagascar and Mayotte.The habits, habitat and appearance of these frogs are widely variable. Most species are terrestrial, though some are arboreal or aquatic. Body size ranges from 3 to 10 centimetres in length...

. Like other frogs of their family, they are small, toxic, arboreal, and colorful. They have adaptations simiar to the unrelated tree frog
Tree frog
Hylidae is a wide-ranging family of frogs commonly referred to as "tree frogs and their allies". However, the hylids include a diversity of frog species, many of which do not live in trees, but are terrestrial or semi-aquatic.-Characteristics:...

s. This genus can only be found on Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...

 and Mayotte Island (Comoros
Comoros
The Comoros , officially the Union of the Comoros is an archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa, on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel, between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar...

) and is the single member of the subfamily Boophinae.

Many species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of Boophis have nearly translucent skin, allowing bones and internal organs to be observed like in the unrelated glass frog
Glass frog
Glass frog is the common name for the frogs of the amphibian family Centrolenidae . While the general background coloration of most glass frogs is primarily lime green, the abdominal skin of some members of this family is transparent...

s (Centrolenidae) of the tropical Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...

. This has led to the vernacular name skeleton frogs for the present genus.

Species

The genus has presently nearly 60 species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

; new ones are being described every few months on average. This list is not exhaustive.
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