Mesobatrachia

Mesobatrachia
Temporal range: Late Jurassic to present
Rhinophrynus dorsalis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Amphibia
Subclass: Lissamphibia
Superorder: Batrachia
Order: Anura
Suborder: Mesobatrachia
Families

Megophryidae
Pelobatidae
Pelodytidae
Pipidae
Rhinophrynidae
Scaphiopodidae

The Mesobatrachia are the second-largest of the Anura suborders of amphibians. It contains six families, 20 genera, and 168 species. Recognized as a group in 1993, the name (meso- "middle" batrachia "frogs") is contrasted with the primitive Archaeobatrachia and the more diverse and advanced Neobatrachia.

The Mesobatrachia comprise five fossorial families, including the spadefoot toads of Europe, North America, and East Asia, the parsley frogs, and the Mexican burrowing toad, as well as one obligatorily aquatic family, the Pipidae of Africa and South America.

The Mesobatrachia are a relatively new group, only having been identified as such in 1993.

References


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/21/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.