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Leptodactylidae

 
Leptodactylidae

 
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Leptodactylidae
 
 
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Leptodactylidae are a diverse Family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 of frog
Frog

Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . The name frog derives from Old English language frogga, , cognate with Sanskrit plava , probably deriving from Proto-Indo-European language praw = "to jump"....
s that probably diverged from other hyloids
Hyloidea

Hyloidea is a superfamily of frogs....
 during the Cenozoic
Cenozoic

The Cenozoic Era...
 era, or possibly at the end of the Mesozoic
Mesozoic

The Mesozoic Era is one of three Geologic time scale of the Phanerozoic eon . The division of time into eras dates back to Giovanni Arduino, in the 18th century, although his original name for the era now called the 'Mesozoic' was 'Secondary' ....
. There are roughly 50 genera
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
, one of which is Eleutherodactylus
Eleutherodactylus

Eleutherodactylus is a diverse genus of Leptodactylidae frogs. This is typically described as the largest vertebrate genus on Earth, with over 700 species, new List of animals new to science#Reptiles being discovered almost every year....
, the largest vertebrate
Vertebrate

Vertebrates are members of the subphylum Vertebrata, chordates with Vertebras or Vertebral columns. The grouping sometimes includes the hagfish, which have no vertebrae, but are genetically quite closely related to lampreys, which do have vertebrae....
 genus, with over 700 species. In total, there are approximately 1100 leptodactylid species, most of which are widely distributed throughout Central
Central America

Central America is a central geography region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmus portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast....
 and South America
South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
. The family is often considered paraphyletic and has no morphological synapomorphies.






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Leptodactylidae are a diverse Family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 of frog
Frog

Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . The name frog derives from Old English language frogga, , cognate with Sanskrit plava , probably deriving from Proto-Indo-European language praw = "to jump"....
s that probably diverged from other hyloids
Hyloidea

Hyloidea is a superfamily of frogs....
 during the Cenozoic
Cenozoic

The Cenozoic Era...
 era, or possibly at the end of the Mesozoic
Mesozoic

The Mesozoic Era is one of three Geologic time scale of the Phanerozoic eon . The division of time into eras dates back to Giovanni Arduino, in the 18th century, although his original name for the era now called the 'Mesozoic' was 'Secondary' ....
. There are roughly 50 genera
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
, one of which is Eleutherodactylus
Eleutherodactylus

Eleutherodactylus is a diverse genus of Leptodactylidae frogs. This is typically described as the largest vertebrate genus on Earth, with over 700 species, new List of animals new to science#Reptiles being discovered almost every year....
, the largest vertebrate
Vertebrate

Vertebrates are members of the subphylum Vertebrata, chordates with Vertebras or Vertebral columns. The grouping sometimes includes the hagfish, which have no vertebrae, but are genetically quite closely related to lampreys, which do have vertebrae....
 genus, with over 700 species. In total, there are approximately 1100 leptodactylid species, most of which are widely distributed throughout Central
Central America

Central America is a central geography region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmus portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast....
 and South America
South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
. The family is often considered paraphyletic and has no morphological synapomorphies. The family includes terrestrial, burrowing, aquatic, and arboreal members, inhabiting a wide range of different habitats.

Several of the genera within the Leptodactylidae lay their eggs in foam nests. These can be in crevices, on the surface of water, or on forest floors. These foam nests are some of the most varied among frogs. When eggs hatch in nests on the forest floor, the tadpole
Tadpole

A tadpole or polliwog is the wholly aquatic larval stage in the life cycle of an amphibian....
s remain within the nest, without eating, until metamorphosis
Metamorphosis

.Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically developmental biology after birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's form or structure through cell cell growth#Cell reproduction and cell differentiation....
. In the genus Eleutherodactylus
Eleutherodactylus

Eleutherodactylus is a diverse genus of Leptodactylidae frogs. This is typically described as the largest vertebrate genus on Earth, with over 700 species, new List of animals new to science#Reptiles being discovered almost every year....
, the eggs undergo direct development and hatch directly into miniature frogs, with no free-living tadpole stage.

The Leptodactylids are well represented in the fossil record, and one specimen from the genus Eleutherodactylus was wholly preserved in amber 37 million years ago.

Classification


Family LEPTODACTYLIDAE
  • Subfamily Ceratophryinae
    Ceratophryinae

    The Ceratophryinae, known as common horned frogs, are a subfamily of the Leptodactylidae frogs. All species in this subfamily live in South America....
     - Horned Frogs
  • Subfamily Cycloramphinae
    Cycloramphinae

    Cycloramphinae is a subfamily of Leptodactylidae frogs....
     - Darwin's Frogs
  • Subfamily Eleutherodactylinae
    Eleutherodactylinae

    The 801 described members of subfamily Eleutherodactylinae make up 27% of all neotropical frog species, most of which are grouped in the genus Eleutherodactylus....
     - Robber Frogs
  • Subfamily Leptodactylinae
    Leptodactylinae

    Leptodactylinae is a subfamily of Leptodactylidae frogs....
  • Subfamily Telmatobiinae
    Telmatobiinae

    Telmatobiinae is a subfamily of Leptodactylidae frogs. All species in this subfamily live in South America....
     - Water Frogs


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