Alytidae

The Alytidae are a family of primitive frogs.[2][3][4][5] Their common name is painted frogs[2] or midwife toads.[4] Most are endemic to Europe, but there are also three species in northwest Africa, and a species formerly thought to be extinct in Israel.

Alytidae
Temporal range: Late Jurassic to Recent[1]
Alytes obstetricans
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Suborder: Archaeobatrachia
Family: Alytidae
Fitzinger, 1843
Genera

Genus Alytes
Genus Discoglossus
Genus Latonia
   

Distribution of Discoglossidae (in black)
Synonyms

Discoglossidae Günther, 1859

This family is also known as Discoglossidae, but the older name Alytidae has priority and is now recognized by major reference works.[2][3][4][5] However, some researchers suggest that Alytes and Discoglossus are different enough to be treated as separate families, implying resurrection of Discoglossidae.[2]

Genera and species

The family contains three extant genera, Alytes, Discoglossus, and Latonia. The first is somewhat toad-like and can often be found on land. The second is smoother and more frog-like, preferring the water.[6] The third genus was until recently considered extinct, and is represented by the recently rediscovered Hula painted frog. All of the species have pond-dwelling tadpoles.

The genera Bombina and Barbourula also used to be under this family, but have now been moved to the Bombinatoridae.[7]

Family Alytidae

  • Iberian midwife toad (Alytes cisternasii)
  • Iberian or Portuguese painted frog (Discoglossus galganoi)
  • Fossil discoglossid from Miocene (†Latonia seyfriedi)

References
  1. Foster, J. (2007). "Enneabatrachus hechti" Jurassic West: The Dinosaurs of the Morrison Formation and Their World. Indiana University Press. p. 137.
  2. Frost, Darrel R. (2014). "Alytidae Fitzinger, 1843". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  3. "Alytidae Fitzinger, 1843". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
  4. "Alytidae". AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. [web application]. Berkeley, California: AmphibiaWeb. 2014. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  5. Blackburn, D.C.; Wake, D.B. (2011). "Class Amphibia Gray, 1825. In: Zhang, Z.-Q. (Ed.) Animal biodiversity: An outline of higher-level classification and survey of taxonomic richness" (PDF). Zootaxa. 3148: 39–55.
  6. Zweifel, Richard G. (1998). Cogger, H.G.; Zweifel, R.G. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 85–86. ISBN 0-12-178560-2.
  7. Frost, Darrel R. (2014). "Bombinatoridae Gray, 1825". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
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