Hemiphractus

Hemiphractus
Hemiphractus fasciatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Amphibia
Order:Anura
Family:Hemiphractidae
Genus:Hemiphractus
Wagler, 1828
Diversity
6 species (see text)
Synonyms

Cerathyla Jiménez de la Espada, 1870

Hemiphractus (known as horned (tree)frogs) is a genus of frogs in the family Hemiphractidae.[1][2] They are found in northern South America and Panama.[1]

Description

Hemiphractus are robust-bodied frogs.[3] The genus is characterized by a fleshy proboscis on terminus of snout and fleshy tubercles on eyelids, skull that is highly casqued with prominent lateral occipital processes projecting backwards, and fang-like maxillary and premaxillary teeth.[4]

Female frogs carry eggs openly on their back; the eggs adhere to the mother's back with gelatinous material. Eggs hatch as fully developed froglets.[5]

Ecology and behaviour

Hemiphractus are believed to be specialized predators of other frogs, and hence confined to areas with high density of frogs.[6] They can threat their predators by opening their mouth, exposing the colourful tongue.[7]

Species

There are six recognized species:[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Frost, Darrel R. (2015). "Hemiphractus Wagler, 1828". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  2. ↑ "Hemiphractidae". AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. [web application]. Berkeley, California: AmphibiaWeb. 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  3. ↑ Vitt, Laurie J.; Caldwell, Janalee P. (2014). Herpetology: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles (4th ed.). Academic Press. p. 497.
  4. ↑ Sheil, C. A.; Mendelson III, J. R. (2001). "A new species of Hemiphractus (Anura: Hylidae: Hemiphractinae), and a redescription of H. johnsoni". Herpetologica. 57: 189–202. JSTOR 3893183.
  5. ↑ Vitt and Caldwell (2014), p. 166, 497
  6. ↑ IUCN. "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2015.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>". Archived from the original on 27 June 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  7. ↑ Vitt and Caldwell (2014), p. 322
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