Saddleback toad
Encyclopedia
The saddleback toads are the family
Brachycephalidae (icon) in the order
Anura. The family consist of just one genus, Brachycephalus, which consists of nine species. These frogs are native to southeastern Brazil
.
The saddleback toads are very small frogs, mostly around 1 centimetre (0.393700787401575 in) in length, and include the smallest frog in the southern hemisphere, Izecksohn's Toad (Brachycephalus didactylus). They have only three toes on each foot, and two fingers on each hand. This is in contrast to the usual five toes and four fingers of most frogs.
The saddleback toads are active during the day, and live in the leaf litter on forest floors. The eggs undergo direct development, hatching into miniature frogs, without a tadpole
stage. The eggs are laid on the ground, and covered in soil to protect from the heat and predators. Their amplexus
method is unusual, in that it begins with inguinal amplexus, with the male holding the female around the waist, and then shifts to axillary amplexus, in which the male grips above the female's arms. Most frogs species only use one technique.
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Brachycephalidae (icon) in the order
Order (biology)
In scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...
Anura. The family consist of just one genus, Brachycephalus, which consists of nine species. These frogs are native to southeastern Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
.
The saddleback toads are very small frogs, mostly around 1 centimetre (0.393700787401575 in) in length, and include the smallest frog in the southern hemisphere, Izecksohn's Toad (Brachycephalus didactylus). They have only three toes on each foot, and two fingers on each hand. This is in contrast to the usual five toes and four fingers of most frogs.
The saddleback toads are active during the day, and live in the leaf litter on forest floors. The eggs undergo direct development, hatching into miniature frogs, without a tadpole
Tadpole
A tadpole or polliwog is the wholly aquatic larval stage in the life cycle of an amphibian, particularly that of a frog or toad.- Appellation :...
stage. The eggs are laid on the ground, and covered in soil to protect from the heat and predators. Their amplexus
Amplexus
Amplexus is a form of pseudocopulation in which a male amphibian grasps a female with his front legs as part of the mating process...
method is unusual, in that it begins with inguinal amplexus, with the male holding the female around the waist, and then shifts to axillary amplexus, in which the male grips above the female's arms. Most frogs species only use one technique.
Classification
Family BRACHYCEPHALIDAE- Genus Brachycephalus
- Brachycephalus alipioiBrachycephalus alipioiBrachycephalus alipioi is a species of frog in the Brachycephalidae family. It is endemic to Brazil....
(Pombal & Gasparini, 2006) - Izecksohn’s Toad, Brachycephalus didactylus (Izecksohn, 1971)
- Spix’s Saddleback Toad, Brachycephalus ephippium (Spix, 1824)
- Brachycephalus ferruginusBrachycephalus ferruginusBrachycephalus ferruginus is a species of frog in the Brachycephalidae family. It is endemic to Brazil....
(Alves, Ribeiro, Haddad et al., 2006) - Brachycephalus hermogenesi (Giaretta et Sawaya, 1998)
- Serra Cantareira Saddleback Toad, Brachycephalus nodoterga (Miranda-Ribeiro, 1920)
- Brachycephalus pernixBrachycephalus pernixBrachycephalus pernix is a species of frog in the Brachycephalidae family.It is endemic to Brazil.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montanes.It is threatened by habitat loss.-Source:...
(Pombal, Wistuba, et Bornschein, 1998) - Brachycephalus pombaliBrachycephalus pombaliBrachycephalus pombali is a species of frog in the Brachycephalidae family. It is endemic to Brazil....
(Alves, Ribeiro, Haddad et al., 2006) - Brachycephalus pulex Napoli, Caramschi, Cruz & Dias, 2011
- Brachycephalus vertebralisBrachycephalus vertebralisBrachycephalus vertebralis is a species of frog in the Brachycephalidae family.It is endemic to Brazil.Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.It is threatened by habitat loss.-Source:...
(Pombal, 2001)
- Brachycephalus alipioi