Pelobatoidea

Pelobatoidea
Pelobates cultripes
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Suborder: Mesobatrachia
Superfamily: Pelobatoidea
Stannius, 1856

The Pelobatoidea are a superfamily of frogs. They typically combine a toad-like body shape with a frog-like, pointed face (hence the German name 'Krötenfrösche', literally 'toad frogs'). Phylogenetically they stand between primitive frogs (fire-bellied toads, midwife toads) on the one side and higher frogs (the family of true toads, tree frogs, and the family of true frogs) on the other and are therefore - among other things by characteristics of bone construction - in the suborder Mesobatrachia.

The Pelobatoidea contain are more than 140 species in 12 genera and 2 families. The distribution covers Europe, North Africa and West Asia (Family Pelobatidae) and Southeast Asia (family Megophryidae). Their sister group are the Pelodytoidea, consisting of North American spadefood toads and parsley frogs.

A striking characteristic is the vertically slit pupil in daylight. The tongue is thick, circular and almost entirely adhering to the floor of the mouth. When mating the males clutches the females in the lumbar region, just before the hind legs (inguinal Amplexus).

Taxonomy to the genus level

(In addition, otherwise individual species listed)

Pelodytoidea

See also

Further reading

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