Mesobatrachia

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The division of living beings into systematics is a continuous subject of research. Different systematic classifications exist side by side and one after the other. The taxon treated here has become obsolete due to new research or is not part of the group systematics presented in the German-language Wikipedia.

Common spadefoot toad ( Pelobates fuscus )

Mesobatrachia - in German about "Mittlere Froschlurche" or "Moderately developed Froschlurche" - is a phylogenetically older suborder of the Froschlurche , which in turn belongs to the class of amphibians . The formal separation from the suborder Archaeobatrachia is, however, a fairly new proposal from 1993, which has not yet been reproduced in many overviews. With 187 species from six families, only around three percent of all frog species are counted among the Mesobatrachia.

features

The differentiation of the frog auger into "lower" ( Archaeobatrachia ), "medium" and "higher" frogs ( Neobatrachia ) - which is by no means undisputed and with increasing knowledge becomes more uncertain than clearer because some supposed differentiating factors have proven to be group-wide primarily according to features of the anatomy , especially the bone structure, as well as some externally visible characteristics and behavior. In detail, the following characteristics can be named for four superfamilies of the Mesobatrachia:

Superfamilies Pelobatoidea ( toad frogs ) and Pelodytoidea

The jawbones are dentate; the shoulder girdle is movable; there are eight procoel shaped, presacral vertebrae with overlapping neural arches; the lumbar vertebrae have butterfly-like transverse processes and are firmly fused with the urostyle (tailbone); the Praesacralia (vertebrae) I and II are not fused together. Ribs are absent; the roof of the skull is more ossified than in most other frogs. The pupils are aligned vertically slit in daylight. The amplexus through the male occurs inguinally, that is, in the lumbar region; They do not have oestrus calluses . The larvae have a breathing hole on the left side and partially enlarged horn beaks.

Superfamily Pipoidea - tongueless

The tongueless, which are strongly adapted to aquatic life, were formerly known as the subordination Aglossa. They have five to eight ophistocoel shaped, so backward hollowed vertebrae. The tadpoles initially have free ribs, but after metamorphosis they grow together with the transverse processes of the vertebrae. Some species have a lateral line organ similar to fish . There is no tongue in the oral cavity. The amplexus occurs inguinally. The larvae have paired breathing holes.

Superfamily Rhinophrynoidea - nasal toads

This group, which consists of only one species, the nasal toad ( Rhinophrynus dorsalis ), was formerly grouped together with the disc bunch (Discoglossidae; compare also: Archaeobatrachia ) to the suborder Ophistocoela. In front of the sacrum, nasal toads have eight vertebrae that are ophistocoel shaped (hollowed out at the back) and a movable chest girdle.

Taxonomy of the suborder Mesobatrachia down to the genus level

(alphabetically within the family)

literature

  • Günther E. Freytag, Bernhard Grzimek, Oskar Kuhn & Erich Thenius (eds.): Lurche . In: Grzimeks Tierleben, Vol. 5: Fish 2, Lurche. Licensed edition in dtv, Munich 1980, ISBN 3-423-03204-9

Web links

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