''Dendrophryniscus'' is a genus of

true toads A true toad is any member of the family Bufonidae, in the order Anura (frogs and toads). This is the only family of anurans in which all members are known as toads, although some may be called frogs (such as harlequin frogs). The bufonids now ...

in the family

Bufonidae {{Cat main, Toad This category Category, plural categories, may refer to: General uses *Classification, the general act of allocating things to classes/categories Philosophy * Category of being * ''Categories'' (Aristotle) * Category (Kant) * C ...

, sometimes known as tree toads. They are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the Atlantic Forest of Brazil.

Taxonomy

Until 2012, the genus ''Dendrophryniscus'' included the species now separated to the genus '' Amazophrynella''. This was based on molecular genetic evidence that indicated deep divergence between an Amazonian and an Atlantic Forest

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

, the latter retaining the name ''Dendrophryniscus'' whereas the former was described as a new genus ''Amazonella'', later amended to ''Amazophrynella'' because of

homonymy In linguistics, homonyms are words which are either; ''homographs''—words that mean different things, but have the same spelling (regardless of pronunciation), or ''homophones''—words that mean different things, but have the same pronunciatio ...

Description

The species of ''Dendrophryniscus'' are small to medium-sized toads measuring in snout–vent length. Their body form resembles those of the genus ''

Atelopus ''Atelopus'' is a large genus of Bufonidae, commonly known as harlequin frogs or toads, from Central America, Central and South America, ranging as far north as Costa Rica and as far south as Bolivia. ''Atelopus'' species are small, generally br ...

''. The hind limbs are well developed. The

parotoid gland The parotoid gland (alternatively, paratoid gland) is an external skin gland on the back, neck, and shoulder of some frogs (especially toads), and salamanders. It can secrete a number of milky alkaloid substances (depending on the species) known ...

s are absent, as are external tympana. The skin is uniformly granulose to warty. Dorsal coloration is cryptic. With the exception of ''

Dendrophryniscus leucomystax ''Dendrophryniscus leucomystax'' is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is endemic to southern and southeastern Brazil and occurs in coastal forests of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Santa Catarina states. It is a very common species ...

'', species of the genus ''Dendrophryniscus'' breed in

phytotelmata Phytotelma (plural phytotelmata) is a small water-filled cavity in a terrestrial plant. The water accumulated within these plants may serve as the habitat for associated fauna and flora. A rich literature in German summarised by Thienemann (19 ...

. In contrast, species of the genus ''Amazophrynella'' are pond breeders, which is presumably an ancestral trait in bufonids.

Species

The following species are recognized in the genus ''Dendrophryniscus'':

References

{{Authority control Amphibians of the Atlantic Forest Endemic frogs of Brazil Taxa named by Marcos Jiménez de la Espada Amphibian genera