Saddleback toad
| Saddleback toads | |
|---|---|
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| Spix’s Saddleback Toad, Brachycephalus ephippium | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Suborder: | Neobatrachia |
| Family: | Brachycephalidae Günther, 1858 |
| Genus: | Brachycephalus Fitzinger, 1826 |
| Species | |
The saddleback toads are the family Brachycephalidae in the order Anura. The family has just one genus, Brachycephalus. It has 11 species. These tiny, often yellow frogs live in Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil.
The saddleback toads are very small frogs. They are mostly about 1 centimetre (0.39 in) in length. They include the smallest frog in the southern hemisphere, Izecksohn's Toad (Brachycephalus didactylus).[1] They have only three toes on each foot, and two fingers on each hand. This is different than the usual five toes and four fingers of most frogs.
The saddleback toads are active during the day. They live in the leaf litter on forest floors. The eggs hatch into miniature frogs. There is no tadpole stage.[1] The eggs are laid on the ground. They are covered in soil to protect from the heat and predators.
Classification [change]
Family BRACHYCEPHALIDAE
- Genus Brachycephalus
- Brachycephalus alipioi Pombal & Gasparini, 2006
- Izecksohn’s Toad, Brachycephalus didactylus (Izecksohn, 1971)
- Spix’s Saddleback Toad, Brachycephalus ephippium (Spix, 1824)
- Brachycephalus ferruginus Alves, Ribeiro, Haddad et al., 2006
- Brachycephalus hermogenesi (Giaretta et Sawaya, 1998)
- Serra Cantareira Saddleback Toad, Brachycephalus nodoterga Miranda-Ribeiro, 1920
- Brachycephalus pernix Pombal, Wistuba, and Bornschein, 1998
- Brachycephalus pitanga Alves, Sawaya, Reis, and Haddad, 2009
- Brachycephalus pombali Alves, Ribeiro, Haddad et al., 2006
- Brachycephalus pulex Napoli, Caramschi, Cruz & Dias, 2011[2]
- Brachycephalus vertebralis Pombal, 2001
References [change]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Brachycephalus |
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Zweifel, Richard G. (1998). Cogger, H.G. & Zweifel, R.G.. ed. Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 103. ISBN 0-12-178560-2.
- ↑ Napoli, M.F., Caramaschi, U., Cruz, C.A.G., & Dias, I.R. "A new species of flea-toad, genus Brachycephalus Fitzinger (Amphibia: Anura: Brachycephalidae), from the Atlantic rainforest of southern Bahia, Brazil." Zootaxa 2739 (2011): 33-40.
