Myobatrachidae

Myobatrachidae Temporal range: 25–0 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N Late Oligocene – Recent[1]
The common eastern froglet (Crinia signifera)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Anura
Suborder:	Neobatrachia
Family:	Myobatrachidae Schlegel, 1850
Subfamilies
See text
Distribution of Myobatrachidae (in black)

The Myobatrachidae (commonly known as the Australian ground frogs) are a family of frogs found in Australia and New Guinea. Members of this family vary greatly in size, from species less than 1.5 cm (0.59 in) long, to the second-largest frog in Australia, the giant barred frog (Mixophyes iteratus), at 12 cm (4.7 in) in length. The entire family is either terrestrial or aquatic frogs, with no arboreal species.

Characteristics

The Myobatrachidae family contains forms of parental care unique in the animal kingdom. The two species of gastric-brooding frog (genus: Rheobatrachus), are found in this family. The females of these species swallow their young, where they develop until metamorphosis. The pouched frog (Assa darlingtoni) has pouches on the sides of its body. The male will guard the eggs until hatching, and assist the tadpoles into its side, where they stay until metamorphosis.^[1] Another form of parental care, although not unique, is found in many species of the genus Limnodynastes, where the male buries himself near an egg mass, and protects the eggs.

While many species are adapted to burrowing, helping them survive in semiarid or seasonally arid environments, the turtle frog and sandhill frog go so far as to lay their eggs directly into moist sand several feet below the surface, rather than into water. These species lack tadpoles, with the eggs hatching directly into miniature frogs.^[1]

These frogs lack adhesive toe discs found in the tree frogs. The family is broken into subfamilies based mainly upon their egg-laying habits. Those of the subfamily Limnodynastinae lay foam nests. The female creates foam by agitating a chemical on her skin with her hands. The foam may float on top of water, or be on land. The subfamily Rheobatrachinae contains the two species of gastric-brooding frogs, and the rest are within the subfamily Myobatrachinae.

Taxonomy

The myobatrachids are split into three subfamilies: Myobatrachinae, Limnodynastinae, and Rheobatrachinae. Although most sources class the three groups as subfamilies, some taxonomists recognise them as individual families.

Subfamilia	Species	Common name	Binomial name
Limnodynastinae[2]	1	Tusked frog	Adelotus Ogilby, 1907
	6	Giant burrowing frogs	Heleioporus Gray, 1841
	4	Cannibal frogs	Lechriodus Boulenger, 1882
	11	Australian swamp frogs	Limnodynastes Fitzinger, 1843
	10	Stubby frogs	Neobatrachus Peters, 1863
	4	Australian spadefoot toads	Notaden Günther, 1873
	2	Burrowing frogs	Opisthodon Steindachner, 1867
	6	Baw Baw frogs	Philoria Spencer, 1901
Myobatrachinae[3]	1	Australian dumpy frogs	Arenophryne Tyler, 1976
	1	Pouched frogs	Assa Tyler, 1972
	15	Australian froglets	Crinia Tschudi, 1838
	7	Ground froglets	Geocrinia Blake, 1973
	1	Nicholls' toadlets	Metacrinia Parker, 1940
	8	Barred frogs	Mixophyes Günther, 1864
	1	Turtle frogs	Myobatrachus Schlegel In Gray, 1850
	1	Haswell's frogs	Paracrinia Heyer & Liem, 1976
	13	Crowned toadlet	Pseudophryne Fitzinger, 1843
	1	Sunset frog	Spicospina Roberts et al., 1997
	6	Australian torrent frogs	Taudactylus Straughan & Lee, 1966
	25	Australian toadlets	Uperoleia Gray, 1841
Rheobatrachinae[4]	2	Gastric-brooding frogs	Rheobatrachus Liem, 1973

Notes

1. Zweifel, Richard G. (1998). Cogger, H.G. & Zweifel, R.G., ed. Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 90–91. ISBN 0-12-178560-2.
2. Considered a family - Limnodynastidae by some authors.
3. Considered a family - Myobatrachidae by some authors.
4. Combined with the Myobatrachidae by some authors.

References

• Cogger, H.G.; R.G. Zweifel; D. Kirschner (2004). Encyclopedia of Reptiles & Amphibians Second Edition. Fog City Press. ISBN 1-877019-69-0.