Ceratophryidae
| Ceratophryidae Temporal range: Late Cretaceous – Holocene, 93.60–0 Ma | |
|---|---|
1.JPG) | |
| Ceratophrys ornata | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Superfamily: | Hyloidea |
| Family: | Ceratophryidae Tschudi, 1838 |
| Genera | |
|
3 extant genera, see text. | |
The Ceratophryidae, known as common horned frogs, are a family of frogs found in South America. It is a relatively small family with three extant genera and 12 species.[1][2][3] However, fossils of the giant Beelzebufo from Cretaceous Madagascar suggest the taxon may have once ranged throughout the prehistoric supercontinent of Gondwana.[4]
Despite the common name, not all species in the subfamily have the horn-like projections at the eyes. They have a relatively large head with big mouth, and they are ambush predators able to consume large prey, including lizards, other frogs, and small mammals. They inhabit arid areas and are seasonal breeders, depositing many small eggs in aquatic habitats. Tadpoles are free-living and carnivorous (Ceratophrys and Lepidobatrachus) or grazers (Chacophrys).[5]
Some species (especially from the genera Ceratophrys and Lepidobatrachus) are popular in herpetoculture.
Taxonomy
Placement of this clade has varied considerably over time, having been a subfamily within the Leptodactylidae for a long while. Later on, it has been raised to family level, either broadly defined, including the Telmatobiidae and Batrachylidae (as subfamilies Telmatobiinae and Batrachylinae, respectively[5]), or as now is commonly accepted, as a smaller family with three genera.[1][2][3]
Genera
- Ceratophrys Wied-Neuwied, 1824 (8 species)
- Chacophrys Reig & Limeses, 1963 (monotypic: Chacophrys pierottii (Vellard, 1948))
- Lepidobatrachus Budgett, 1899 (3 species)
In addition, a number of fossil taxa are included in this family, at least provisionally:[3][6]
- †Baurubatrachus Báez & Peri, 1990 "1989"
- †Beelzebufo Evans, Jones, & Krause, 2008
- †Wawelia Casamiquela, 1959
References
- 1 2 3 Frost, Darrel R. (2014). "Ceratophryidae Tschudi, 1838". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
- 1 2 3 "Ceratophryidae". AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. [web application]. Berkeley, California: AmphibiaWeb. 2014. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
- 1 2 3 Blackburn, D.C.; Wake, D.B. (2011). "Class Amphibia Gray, 1825. In: Zhang, Z.-Q. (Ed.) Animal biodiversity: An outline of higher-level classification and survey of taxonomic richness" (PDF). Zootaxa. 3148: 39–55.
- ↑ Dybas, Cheryl (2008-02-18). "Scientists Discover 'Giant Fossil Frog from Hell'". Press Release 08-025. National Science Foundation. Retrieved 2008-02-19.
- 1 2 Vitt, Laurie J.; Caldwell, Janalee P. (2014). Herpetology: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles (4th ed.). Academic Press. pp. 496–497.
- ↑ Martín, C.; Sanchiz, B. (2014). "Lisanfos KMS. Version 1.2. Online reference accessible at http://www.lisanfos.mncn.csic.es/". Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, MNCN-CSIC, Madrid (Spain). Retrieved 18 December 2014. External link in
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