Stefania (genus)

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Stefania
Stefania evansi. Illustration from the first description by Boulenger in 1904. the female carries 22 eggs on her back. [1]

Stefania evansi . Illustration from the first description by Boulenger in 1904. the female carries 22 eggs on her back.

Systematics
without rank: Amphibians (Lissamphibia)
Order : Frog (anura)
Subordination : Neobatrachia
Family : Hemiphractidae
Subfamily : Hemiphractinae
Genre : Stefania
Scientific name
Stefania
Rivero , 1968

Stefania is a genus of the frogs (Anura), from the South American frog family Hemiphractidae . A specialty of the genus is the brood care: As with the other members of the Hemiphractidae family, the females carry the eggs on their bodies.

distribution

These frogs come from South America. The 19 species described so far were found in very small areas in Venezuela and Guyana . These include the Tepuis , individually standing table mountains up to almost 3000 meters high , created by erosion , on which different species of the genus can occur at different altitudes. Some species are also found in the adjacent parts of Brazil .

Way of life

In the species of the genus Stefania, the eggs are transported openly on the back of the female. When laying eggs, the female directs the cloaca upwards so that the eggs can roll onto her back. The male distributes them there and a secretion from the female creates a slimy, gelatinous substance that makes them stick well to the skin. This brood care enables the species to produce a few large, yolk-rich eggs and to ensure the survival of as many embryos as possible. This is not about the transport from one water point to another, as is the case with the frog genus Allobates , which lives in the same area , but about the permanent protection of the larvae. These develop directly in the eggs, without an intermediate stage, as free-living tadpoles in the water. Even after hatching, the young frogs remain tightly packed on their mother's back for some time and feed on the remaining yolk reserves.

Danger

Because of their small distribution areas, which are often also very fragmented, some species are endangered or severely endangered. For many species there is a lack of detailed information on the endangered status.

Systematics and taxonomy

All South American frog genera that care for their brood by carrying their eggs on their backs are grouped together in the Hemiphractidae family. In the 19th and 20th centuries these genera were assigned to the family of the tree frogs (Hylidae). After phylogenetic studies it turned out, however, that Stefania and some other South American genera, which had been put together in the subfamily Hemifractinae, were not as closely related to the tree frogs as originally assumed. After some systematic changes, the subfamily was spun off as an independent family Hemiphractidae from the tree frogs.

genus

The type species of the genus is originally described under the name Hyla evansi in 1904 by George Albert Boulenger , Stefania evansi .

species

19 species have been described within the genus Stefania .

As of May 20, 2020

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b George Albert Boulenger: Description of a new tree-frog of the genus Hyla, from British Guiana, carrying eggs on the back. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, Vol. II, 1904, p. 106.
  2. ↑ a b c d e Darrel R. Frost: Stefania Rivero, 1968 . Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference, Version 6.1, American Museum of Natural History, New York 1998-2020, accessed May 20, 2020.
  3. ^ A b Kentwood D. Wells: The Ecology and Behavior of Amphibians. The University of Chicago Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0-226-89334-1 , p. 535.
  4. ↑ Ross D. MacCulloch, Amy Lathrop & Samir Z. Khan: Exceptional diversity of Stefania (Anura, Cryptobatrachidae) II: Six species from Mount Wokomung, Guyana . Phyllomedusa, 5, 1, pp. 31-41, September 2006.
  5. ↑ Patricia E. Salerno & Gregory B. Pauly: Clutch Size Variation in Egg-Brooding Stefania.  South American Journal of Herpetology, 7, pp. 47-54, May 2012.
  6. ↑ Poison dart frogs in underpants . Media portal of the University of Vienna, August 31, 2017, accessed on May 21, 2020.
  7. ↑ Karl-Heinz Jungfer and Wolfgang Boehme: The backpack strategy of parental care in frogs, with notes on froglet-carrying in Stefania evansi (Boulenger, 1904) (Anura: Hylidae: Hemiphractinae) . Revue francaise d'aquariologie, 18, pp. 91-97, December 1991.
  8. ↑ Stefania in the Red List of Endangered Species of the IUCN 2009. Compilation (English)
  9. ↑ S. Castroviejo-Fisher, JM Padial, I. De la Riva, JP Pombal, Jr., HR da Silva, FJM Rojas-Runjaic, E. Medina-Méndez & DR Frost: Phylogenetic systematics of egg-brooding frogs (Anura: Hemiphractidae) and the evolution of direct development. Zootaxa, 4004, pp. 1-75, 2015.
  10. ^ A b c Ross D. MacCulloch & Amy Lathrop: Exceptional diversity of Stefania (Anura: Hylidae) on Mount Ayanganna, Guyana: three new species and new distribution records. Herpetologica, 58, pp. 327-346, 2002.
  11. ↑ CL Barrio-Amorós & O. Fuentes: A new species of Stefania (Anura: Hylidae: Hemiphractinae) from the summit of Cerro Autana, Estado Amazonas, Venezuela . Herpetologica, 59, 4, pp. 504-512, December 2003.
  12. ↑ a b c J. A. Rivero: Notes on the genus Cryptobatrachus (Amphibia, Salientia) with the description of a new race and four new species of a new genus of hylid frogs. Caribbean Journal of Science, 6, pp. 137-149, 1968 "1966"
  13. Jump up ↑ VT de Carvalho, RD MacCulloch, L. Bonora & RC Vogt: New Species of Stefania (Anura: Cryptobatrachidae) from northern Amazonas, Brazil. Journal of Herpetology, 44, pp. 229-235, 2010.
  14. ↑ a b c d e J. C. Señaris, J. Ayarzagüena & SJ Gorzula: Revision taxonomic del genero Stefania (Anura: Hylidae) en Venezuela con la descripción de cinco nuevas especies. Publicaciones de la Asociación de Amigos de Doñana, Seville 7, pp. 1-57, 1997 "1996".
  15. ^ A b William E. Duellman & MS Hoogmoed: The taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships of the hylid frog genus Stefania. Miscellaneous Publication. Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas, 75, pp. 1-39, 1984.

literature

  • JA Rivero: Notes on the genus Cryptobatrachus (Amphibia, Salientia) with the description of a new race and four new species of a new genus of hylid frogs. Caribbean Journal of Science, 6, pp. 137-149, 1968 "1966". (First description of the genus).

Web links

Commons : Stefania  - collection of images, videos and audio files
  • Stefania on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species2009. Accessed May 21, 2020.
  • Darrel R. Frost: Stefania Rivero, 1968 . Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference, Version 6.1, American Museum of Natural History, New York 1998-2020, accessed May 20, 2020.
  • Brad Wilson: Stefania ginesi , photos of a female with newly hatched frogs on her back, gallery on Flickr, accessed May 21, 2020.