''Boophis'' is the only

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

in the mantellid

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Boophinae. They are commonly known as bright-eyed or skeleton frogs. They show typical 'tree frog' traits, and are a good example of

convergent evolution Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last comm ...

with morphologically similar species in the families

Hylidae Hylidae is a wide-ranging family of frogs commonly referred to as " tree frogs and their allies". However, the hylids include a diversity of frog species, many of which do not live in trees, but are terrestrial or semiaquatic. Taxonomy and ...

and

Rhacophoridae The Rhacophoridae are a family of frogs in tropical sub-Saharan Africa, South India and Sri Lanka, Japan, northeastern India to eastern China and Taiwan, south through the Philippines and Greater Sundas, and Sulawesi. They are commonly known as ...

, among others. This genus can only be found on

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

and Mayotte Island (

Comoros The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni, ...

Taxonomy

The genus ''Boophis'' was described by

Johann Jakob von Tschudi Johann Jakob von Tschudi (25 July 1818 – 8 October 1889) was a Switzerland, Swiss naturalist, explorer, and diplomat. He is known for his travels in South America, his scientific contributions to zoology and anthropology, and his diplomatic se ...

in 1838. It was originally considered a member of the African-Asian

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

, but was moved to the family

Mantellidae The Mantellidae are an amphibian family (biology), family of the order (biology), order Frog, Anura (frogs and toads), and are Endemism, endemic to the Indian Ocean islands of Madagascar and Mayotte. At first glance, the diminutive, brightly-col ...

in 2001, into its own subfamily, Boophinae Vences & Glaw, 2001.

Morphology

''Boophis'' are arboreal frogs, exhibiting many traits that define 'tree frogs', such as expanded toe discs, long hindlimbs, and large eyes. ''Boophis'' are especially characterised by bright colouration of the iris, which is typically intricately patterned towards its inside, and often green or blue, but occasionally also red, purple, or yellow in the outer iris area. This has led to the vernacular name of bright-eyed frogs for the genus. Many

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of ''Boophis'' have almost

translucent In the field of optics, transparency (also called pellucidity or diaphaneity) is the physical property of allowing light to pass through the material without appreciable light scattering by particles, scattering of light. On a macroscopic scale ...

skin, allowing bones and internal organs to be observed as in the unrelated

glass frog The glass frogs belong to the amphibian family Centrolenidae (order Anura), native to the Central American and Colombian rainforests. The general background coloration of most glass frogs is primarily lime green, the abdominal skin of some membe ...

s (Centrolenidae) of the tropical

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

. This has led to the vernacular name skeleton frogs for some members of the genus.

Species

The genus has nearly 80

; new ones are being described every few months on average. This list may not be exhaustive. Boophis occidentalis03

* '' Boophis albilabris'' ( Boulenger, 1888) * '' Boophis albipunctatus'' Glaw & Thiesmeier, 1993 * '' Boophis andohahela'' Andreone, Nincheri &

Piazza A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Rela ...

, 1995 * '' Boophis andrangoloaka'' ( Ahl, 1928) * '' Boophis andreonei'' Glaw & Vences, 1994 * '' Boophis anjanaharibeensis'' Andreone, 1996 * '' Boophis ankarafensis''

Penny A penny is a coin (: pennies) or a unit of currency (: pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. At present, it is ...

, Andreone, Crottini, Holderied, Rakotozafy, Schwitzer &

Rosa Rosa or De Rosa may refer to: Plants and animals * ''Rosa'' (plant), the genus of roses * Rosa (sea otter), a sea otter that has become popular on the internet * Rosa (cow), a Spanish-born cow People * Rosa (given name) * Rosa (surname) * San ...

, 2014 * '' Boophis ankaratra'' Andreone, 1993 * '' Boophis arcanus'' Glaw, J. Köhler, De la Riva, Vieites & Vences, 2010 * '' Boophis archeri'' Vences et al., 2024 * '' Boophis axelmeyeri'' Vences, Andreone & Veities, 2005 * '' Boophis baetkei'' J. Köhler, Glaw & Vences, 2008 * ''

Boophis blommersae ''Boophis blommersae'' is a species of frog in the family Mantellidae. It is endemic to northern Madagascar and is known from two locations, Montagne d'Ambre and the vicinity of Tsaratanana. There is also a recent from near Bemanevika. The spec ...

'' Glaw & Vences, 1994 * '' Boophis boehmei'' Glaw & Vences, 1992 * '' Boophis boppa'' Hutter, Lambert, Andriampenomanana & Vences, 2015 * '' Boophis bottae'' Vences & Glaw, 2002 * '' Boophis brachychir'' Boettger, 1882 * '' Boophis burnhamae'' Vences et al., 2024 * '' Boophis burgeri'' Glaw & Vences, 1994 * '' Boophis calcaratus''

Vallan Vallan () is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France. See also *Communes of the Yonne department The following is a list of the 423 communes of the Yonne department of France France, off ...

, Vences & Glaw, 2010 * '' Boophis doulioti''

Angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

, 1934 * '' Boophis elenae'' Andreone, 1993 * '' Boophis englaenderi'' Glaw & Vences, 1994 * '' Boophis entingae'' Glaw, J. Köhler, De la Riva, Vieites & Vences, 2010 * '' Boophis erythrodactylus'' ( Guibé, 1953) * '' Boophis fayi'' J. Köhler, Glaw, Rosa, Gehring, Pabijan, Andreone & Vences, 2011 * '' Boophis feonnyala'' Glaw, Vences, Andreone & Vallan, 2001 * '' Boophis goudotii'' Tschudi, 1838 * ''

Boophis guibei ''Boophis guibei'', sometimes known as the warty bright-eyed frog, is a species of frog in the family Mantellidae. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, rivers, freshwater marshes, in ...

'' (

McCarthy McCarthy (also spelled MacCarthy or McCarty) may refer to: * MacCarthy dynasty, a Gaelic Irish clan * McCarthy, Alaska, United States * McCarty, Missouri, United States * McCarthy Road, a road in Alaska * McCarthy (band), an indie pop band * Châte ...

, 1978) * '' Boophis haematopus'' Glaw, Vences, Andreone & Vallan, 2001 * ''

Boophis haingana ''Boophis haingana'' is an endangered species of Boophis, skeleton frog Endemism, endemic to southeastern Madagascar. It is characterized by its advertisement call, which has shorter note durations and faster note repetitions compared to other fr ...

'' Glaw, J. Köhler, De la Riva, Vieites & Vences, 2010 * '' Boophis idae'' (

Steindachner Franz Steindachner (11 November 1834 in Vienna – 10 December 1919 in Vienna) was an Austrian zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. He published over 200 papers on fishes and over 50 papers on reptiles and amphibians. Steindachner descri ...

, 1867) * '' Boophis jaegeri'' Glaw & Vences, 1992 – Green Skeleton Frog * '' Boophis janewayae'' Vences et al., 2024 * '' Boophis kirki'' Vences et al., 2024 * '' Boophis laurenti'' Guibé, 1947 * '' Boophis liami'' Vallan, Vences & Glaw, 2003 * '' Boophis lichenoides'' Vallan, Glaw, Andreone & Cadle, 1998 * '' Boophis lilianae'' J. Köhler, Glaw & Vences, 2008 * '' Boophis luciae'' Glaw, J. Köhler, De la Riva, Vieites & Vences, 2010 * '' Boophis luteus'' (Boulenger, 1882) * '' Boophis madagascariensis'' ( W. Peters, 1874) * '' Boophis majori'' (Boulenger, 1896) * '' Boophis mandraka'' Blommers-Schlösser, 1979 * '' Boophis marojezensis'' Glaw & Vences, 1994 * '' Boophis masoala'' Glaw,

Scherz Scherz is a former municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Brugg (district), Brugg in Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Aargau in Switzerland. On 1 January 2018 the former municipality of Scherz merged into the municipality ...

Prötzel Prötzel is a municipality in the district Märkisch-Oderland, in Brandenburg, Germany. History From 1815 to 1947, Prötzel was part of the Prussian Province of Brandenburg, from 1947 to 1952 of the State of Brandenburg, from 1952 to 1990 of the B ...

& Vences, 2018 * '' Boophis miadana'' Glaw, J. Köhler, De la Riva, Vieites & Vences, 2010 * '' Boophis microtympanum'' (Boettger, 1881) * '' Boophis miniatus'' ( Mocquard, 1902) * '' Boophis narinsi'' Vences, Gehara, J. Köhler & Glaw, 2012 * '' Boophis nauticus'' Glaw, Hawlitschek, K. Glaw & Vences, 2019 * '' Boophis obscurus'' (Boettger, 1913) * '' Boophis occidentalis'' Glaw & Vences, 1994 * '' Boophis opisthodon'' (Boulenger, 1888) * ''

Boophis pauliani ''Boophis pauliani'' is a species of frogs in the family Mantellidae. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, rivers, swamps, intermit ...

'' (Guibé, 1953) * '' Boophis periegetes'' Cadle, 1995 * '' Boophis picardi'' Vences et al., 2024 * '' Boophis picturatus'' Glaw, Vences, Andreone & Vallan, 2001 * '' Boophis pikei'' Vences et al., 2024 * '' Boophis piperatus'' Glaw, J. Köhler, De la Riva, Vieites & Vences, 2010 * '' Boophis popi'' J. Köhler, Glaw, Rosa, Gehring, Pabijan, Andreone & Vences, 2011 * '' Boophis praedictus'' Glaw, J. Köhler, De la Riva, Vieites & Vences, 2010 * '' Boophis pyrrhus'' Glaw, Vences, Andreone & Vallan, 2001 * '' Boophis quasiboehmei'' Vences, J. Köhler, Crottini & Glaw, 2010 * '' Boophis rappiodes'' (Ahl, 1928) * '' Boophis reticulatus'' Blommers-Schlösser, 1979 * '' Boophis rhodoscelis'' (Boulenger, 1882) * '' Boophis roseipalmatus'' Glaw, J. Köhler, De la Riva, Vieites & Vences, 2010 * '' Boophis rufioculis'' Glaw & Vences, 1997 * '' Boophis sambirano'' Vences & Glaw, 2005 * '' Boophis sandrae'' Glaw, J. Köhler, De la Riva, Vieites & Vences, 2010 * '' Boophis schuboeae'' Glaw & Vences, 2002 * '' Boophis septentrionalis'' Glaw & Vences, 1994 * '' Boophis sibilans'' Glaw & Thiesmeier, 1993 * '' Boophis siskoi'' Vences et al., 2024 * '' Boophis solomaso'' Vallan, Vences & Glaw, 2003 * '' Boophis spinophis'' Glaw, J. Köhler, De la Riva, Vieites & Vences, 2010 * '' Boophis tampoka'' J. Köhler, Glaw & Vences, 2007 * '' Boophis tasymena'' Vences & Glaw, 2002 * '' Boophis tephraeomystax'' ( A.H.A. Duméril, 1853) * '' Boophis tsilomaro'' Vences, Andreone, Glos & Glaw, 2010 * '' Boophis ulftunni'' Wollenberg, Andreone, Glaw & Vences, 2008 * '' Boophis viridis'' Blommers-Schlösser, 1979 * '' Boophis vittatus'' Glaw, Vences, Andreone & Vallan, 2001 * '' Boophis williamsi'' (Guibé, 1974) * '' Boophis xerophilus'' Glaw & Vences, 1997 ''

Nota bene ( ; plural: ) is the Latin language, Latin phrase meaning ''note well''. In manuscripts, ''nota bene'' is abbreviated in upper-case as NB and N.B., and in lower-case as n.b. and nb; the editorial usages of ''nota bene'' and ''notate bene'' fi ...

'': A

binomial authority In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''boophis''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2322420 Amphibians of Sub-Saharan Africa Endemic fauna of Madagascar Amphibian genera Fauna of Mayotte Taxa named by Johann Jakob von Tschudi Taxonomy articles created by Polbot