Neobatrachia
Encyclopedia
Neobatrachia are a suborder of the Anura, the order
of frogs and toads. This suborder is the most advanced and apomorphic of the three anuran orders alive today; hence its name, which literally means "new frogs" (from the hellenic
words "neo", meaning "new" and "batrachia" meaning frogs). It is also by far the largest of the three; its more than 5,000 different species
make up over 96% of all living anurans.
The differentiation between Archaeobatrachia
, Mesobatrachia
, and Neobatrachia is mainly based primarily anatomic differences – especially the skeletal structure –, as well as several visible characteristics and behaviors.
Neobatrachia are usually sorted into five superfamilies. But this division is also controversial, as some families
are placed into different superfamilies by different authors. In addition, several families have been revealed to be paraphyletic and consequently split up to make them correspond to clade
s and thus be natural, evolution
ary groups. This has approximately doubled the number of presently-recognized neobatrachian families.
Order (biology)
In scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...
of frogs and toads. This suborder is the most advanced and apomorphic of the three anuran orders alive today; hence its name, which literally means "new frogs" (from the hellenic
Hellenic
Hellenic is a synonym for Greek and may refer to:* Hellenic languages* Hellenic Airlines* Hellenic College, a liberal arts college in Brookline, Massachusetts* Hellenic College of London* Hellenic FC, a football club in South Africa...
words "neo", meaning "new" and "batrachia" meaning frogs). It is also by far the largest of the three; its more than 5,000 different 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...
make up over 96% of all living anurans.
The differentiation between Archaeobatrachia
Archaeobatrachia
Archaeobatrachia is a suborder of Anura containing various primitive frogs and toads. As the name literally suggests, these are the most primitive frogs. Many of the species show certain physiological characteristics which are not present in other frogs and toads, thus giving rise to this group...
, Mesobatrachia
Mesobatrachia
Mesobatrachia is the second largest of the Anura suborders of amphibians. It contains 6 families, 20 genera and 168 species. This is, of course, not matched to the 5,047 species noted in the Neobatrachia suborder...
, and Neobatrachia is mainly based primarily anatomic differences – especially the skeletal structure –, as well as several visible characteristics and behaviors.
Systematics
Separating the Anura into the Archaeo-, Meso- and Neobatrachia is somewhat controversial, and as more research is done and more knowledge is gained it is even becoming less clear, because many characteristics used for this differentiation apply to more than one group.Neobatrachia are usually sorted into five superfamilies. But this division is also controversial, as some families
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...
are placed into different superfamilies by different authors. In addition, several families have been revealed to be paraphyletic and consequently split up to make them correspond to clade
Clade
A clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...
s and thus be natural, evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
ary groups. This has approximately doubled the number of presently-recognized neobatrachian families.
List of families
The families currently accepted in the Neobatrachia by many authors are:- AmphignathodontidaeAmphignathodontidaeThe marsupial frogs are a disputed family in the order Anura. Where it is treated as a separate family, it consists of two genera, Gastrotheca, and Flectonotus. These frogs are native to Neotropical America . Under other classifications, these are treated as part of family Hemiphractidae...
– marsupial frogs (sometimes in Hemiphractidae) - AromobatidaeAromobatidaeThe Aromobatidae are a family of frogs which are native to Central and South America....
– Skunk Frog (sometimes in Dendrobatidae) - ArthroleptidaeArthroleptidaeArthroleptidae is a family of frogs found in Sub-Saharan Africa. They are also known as squeakers because of their high-pitched call. They are small, less than in length, terrestrial frogs found mostly in leaf litter on the forest floor. They completely bypass any aquatic stage, and therefore do...
– squeakers - Brachycephalidae – saddleback toads
- Bufonidae – true toads
- Calyptocephalellidae (sometimes in Bufonidae)
- Centrolenidae – glass frogs (including Allophrynidae)
- CraugastoridaeCraugastoridaeCraugastoridae is a family of frogs which consists of 2 genera with a disjunct distribution: Craugastor and Haddadus.The genus Craugastor, with 112 species, has the largest distribution and can be found in the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America up to northwestern South America. The...
Hedges, Duellmann & Heinicke, 2008 (formerly in Brachycephalidae) - Dendrobatidae – poison dart frogs
- Eleutherodactylidae Lutz, 1954 (formerly in Brachycephalidae)
- Heleophrynidae – ghost frogs
- Hemisotidae – shovelnose frogs
- Hylidae – true tree frogTree frogHylidae 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 and relatives (including Cryptobatrachidae, Hemiphractidae) - Hylodidae
- HyperoliidaeHyperoliidaeHyperoliidae is a family of small to medium sized, brightly colored, frogs which contains more than 250 species in 19 genera. Seventeen genera are native to sub-Saharan Africa. In addition,the monotypic genus Tachycnemis occurs on the Seychelles Islands, and the genus Heterixalus is endemic to...
– sedge frogs, "bush frogBush frogA bush frog belongs to either of two neobatrachian lineages, both found in sub-Saharan Africa and one also in Asia:* Hyperoliidae, a family of sub-Saharan Africa and the Madagascar region, also known as sedge frogs...
s" - Leiuperidae (sometimes in Leptodactylidae)
- LeptodactylidaeLeptodactylidaeLeptodactylidae is a diverse family of frogs that probably diverged from other hyloids during the Cenozoic era, or possibly at the end of the Mesozoic. There are roughly 50 genera, one of which is Eleutherodactylus, the largest vertebrate genus, with over 700 species...
– southern frogs, tropical frogs (including Ceratophryidae, Cycloramphidae) - MantellidaeMantellidaeMantellidae 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...
– Malagasy frogs - MicrohylidaeMicrohylidaeMicrohylidae is a geographically widespread family of frogs. There are 413 species in 69 genera and nine subfamilies, which is the largest number of genera of any frog family.-Description:...
– narrow-mouthed frogs (including Brevicipitidae) - MyobatrachidaeMyobatrachidaeMyobatrachidae is a family of frogs found in Australia and New Guinea. Members of this family vary greatly in size, from species less than long, to the second largest frog in Australia, the Giant Barred Frog , at in length...
(including Limnodynastidae, Rheobatrachidae) - Pseudidae
- Ranidae – true frogs (including Ceratobatrachidae, Dicroglossidae, Micrixalidae, Nyctibatrachidae, Petropedetidae, Phrynobatrachidae, Ptychadenidae, Pyxicephalidae)
- Ranixalidae (sometimes in Ranidae)
- RhacophoridaeRhacophoridaeRhacophoridae is a family of frog species, which occur in tropical regions of Asia and Africa. They are commonly known as shrub frogs, or more ambiguously as "moss frogs" or "bush frogs". Some Rhacophoridae are called "tree frogs"...
– shrub frogs, "bush frogs", "moss frogs" - RhinodermatidaeRhinodermatidaeRhinodermatidae are a family of small frogs found on the south-west coast of South America. There is only one genus , with just two species, of which the Chile Darwin's Frog is highly endangered or may already be extinct. The better known Darwin's Frog Rhinodermatidae are a family of small frogs...
– Darwin's frogs (sometimes in Cycloramphidae) - SooglossidaeSooglossidaeThe Seychelles Frogs 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 the genus Nesomantis was named a junior synonym of Sooglossus;...
– Seychelles frogs and Pignose Frog (including Nasikabatrachidae) - StrabomantidaeStrabomantidaeStrabomantidae is a family of frogs which are native to South America. These frogs lack a free-living larval stage and hatch directly into miniature "froglets".-Systematics:Holoadeninae*Barycholos*Bryophryne*Euparkerella*Holoaden...
Hedges, Duellmann & Heinicke, 2008 (some formerly in Brachycephalidae)