Brachycephalidae
Gold Frogs
David Cannatella- Brachycephalus ephippium
- Psyllophryne didactyla
Introduction
This small group of tiny frogs is found in forests of southeastern Brazil. The Gold Frog (Brachycephalus ephippium) is the best known member of this family, and is distinctive because of its color and possession of bony dorsal shields that are fused to the vertebrae. However, other populations of Brachycephalus (currently synonymized) have less ossification. With a snout-vent length of only 9.8 mm, Psyllophryne didactyla is one of the world's smallest amphibians. Both genera exhibit reduction of the number of digits. The two genera are united by the absence of a sternum. There are no fossil brachycephalids.Geographic Distribution
The distribution of living members of the family Brachycephalidae is indicated in red.
Discussion of Phylogenetic Relationships
Ford and Cannatella (1993) defined Brachycephalidae to be the most recent common ancestor of Brachycephalus and Psyllophryne, and all its descendants. Synapomorphies include the absence of a sternum, digital reduction, and complete ossification of epicoracoid cartilages with coracoids and clavicles (data from Izecksohn, 1971).
Brachycephalids have always been considered to be neobatrachians. A photo in Halliday and Adler (1986:38-39) shows Brachycephalus ephippium in inguinal amplexus, a behavior that is rare in Neobatrachia (Nussbaum, 1980).
References
Click here for general list of references
About This Page
If you are interested in authoring or co-authoring the page for this taxon, or some part of it (even a species), contact David Cannatella.
David Cannatella
University of Texas, Austin, Texas, USA
Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to David Cannatella at
Page copyright © 1995 David Cannatella
Page: Tree of Life
Brachycephalidae. Gold Frogs.
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Citing this page:
Cannatella, David. 1995. Brachycephalidae. Gold Frogs. Version 01 January 1995 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Brachycephalidae/16940/1995.01.01 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/
