Leaf toad
| Leaf toad | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the family | ||||||||||||
| Allophrynidae | ||||||||||||
| Goin , Goin & Zug , 1978 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Allophryne | ||||||||||||
| Gaige , 1926 |
The leaf toad ( Allophryne ) is a small genus of the frogfish native to northeastern South America . Because of a number of characteristics that distinguish this genus from other frog genera, a separate, monogeneric family was established for them , the Allophrynidae. This family includes the three species of the genus Allophryne .
features
The first species of the Allophrynidae family, Allophryne ruthveni , has been described for a long time and is a small frog with a body length of 20 to 30 mm. The females are slightly larger than the males. The appearance of this species is reminiscent of that of the tree frog , in contrast to these, however, the terminal finger and toe bones are not claw-shaped, but T-shaped. The back is warty and prickly, with a marbling in bronze, gray-brown, golden or yellowish-brown hues and golden-yellow side stripes. The snout appears slightly pointed when viewed from the back and bent downward when viewed from the side. The tympanum is only visible in males. Webbed feet are present while they are absent from the front feet.
To establish the status as an independent family, a list of 13 skeletal features of Allophryne ruthveni was provided .
Geographical distribution
Allophryne ruthveni has been found in Venezuela , Guyana , Suriname , French Guiana and the Brazilian states of Rondônia , Amapá , Pará , Amazonas , Mato Grosso, and Roraima .
Another species ( A. resplendens ) was discovered at Javari in Peru . The species Allophryne relicta , described in 2013, is only known from the type locality in the Brazilian state of Bahia .
Way of life
Leaf toads live in sparse forests near ponds, ponds, streams and rivers. They prefer to stay in the herb and shrub layer close to the ground at heights of one to three meters, where they sometimes gather in groups of a few hundred animals. The occurrence seems to be limited to primary forests . The call is a deep, scratchy warble that can be heard especially in the early evening hours. The reproduction takes place explosively in temporary standing waters. Mating takes place above the ground on plants, with the male climbing the back of the female and clutching it ( amplexus axillaryis). The spawn consists of around 300 pigmented eggs and is released into the water.
Taxonomy
Allophryne ruthveni was described as early as 1926, but no similar species were discovered until 2012. In 1978 a separate family was created for this species, the family of the leaf toad (Allophrynidae). The leaf toads are representatives of the Neobatrachia , within which the relationship to other taxa was controversially discussed. After they were associated with the tree frogs for a long time due to their external appearance , they are more recently seen as a sister group of the glass frogs because of the T-shaped finger and foot bones . The latter was confirmed by molecular genetic findings.
A second species, described in 2012, looks a bit more robust and has a dark basic color with yellow spots. It is thus externally distinguishable and has been classified as a new species with the name Allophryne resplendens due to sequence differences in the ribosomal RNA (by means of sequence analysis) .
As of August 23, 2015
- Allophryne ruthveni Gaige, 1926
- Allophryne resplendens Castroviejo-Fisher, Pérez-Peña, Padial & Guayasamin, 2012
- Allophryne relicta Caramaschi, Orrico, Faivovich, Dias & Solé, 2013
Hazard and protection
The habitats required by leaf toads have been somewhat reduced in the distribution area of Allophryne ruthveni in recent years due to forest clearing. However, the threat is currently low, as the animals mostly live in regions that are little influenced by humans. In the Red List of Threatened Species of IUCN is Allophryne ruthveni as Least Concern (not endangered) classified.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Raul E. Diaz: Allophryne ruthveni. Kellie Whittaker, January 15, 2008, accessed November 10, 2011 .
- ^ Allophryne ruthveni. In: Encyclopedia of Life. Retrieved November 10, 2011 .
- ^ JD Lynch, HL Freeman: Systematic status of a South American frog, Allophryne ruthveni Gaige. In: University of Kansas Museum Natural History Miscellaneous Publication. 17, 1966, pp. 493-502.
- ↑ a b Enrique La Marca, Claudia Azevedo-Ramos, César Luis Barrio Amorós: Allophryne ruthveni . In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. 2004, accessed November 10, 2011 .
- ↑ JP Caldwell, M. S. Hoogmoed: Allophrynidae, Allophryne, A. ruthveni. In: Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, 1998, pp. 666.1-666.3.
- ↑ WE Duellman: List of recent amphibians and reptiles: Hylidae, Centrolenidae, Pseudidae. In: The animal kingdom. 95, 1977, pp. 1-225.
- ↑ Juan Guayasamin, Santiago Castroviejo-Fisher, Linda Trueb , José Ayarzagüena, Marco Rada, Carles Vilà: Phylogenetic systematics of Glassfrogs (Amphibia: Centrolenidae) and their sister taxon Allophryne ruthveni. (= Zootaxa. 2100). Magnolia Press, Auckland 2009, ISBN 978-1-86977-354-0 , pp. 1-97. (Online edition). Abstract, PDF online
- ^ The Field Museum (ed.): Rapid Biological Inventories: Image Gallery: Perú 11 . Chicago 2002 ( fieldmuseum.org [accessed November 10, 2011]).
- ^ A Second Species of the Family Allophrynidae. American Museum of Natural History, 2012, accessed July 24, 2012 .
- ↑ U. Caramaschi, VGD Orrico, J. Faivovich, IR Dias, M. Solé: A new species of Allophryne (Anura: Allophrynidae) from the Atlantic Rain Forest Biome of eastern Brazil. In: Herpetologica. 69, 2013, pp. 480-491.
