''Phrynopus'' is a genus of

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 ...

s of the family

Strabomantidae The Strabomantidae, sometimes called cloud forest landfrogs, are a family of frogs native to South America. These frogs lack a free-living larval stage and hatch directly into miniature "froglets". This family includes '' Pristimantis'', the mo ...

. Their common name is Andes frogs. 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 Peru and inhabit the upper humid

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

and supra-treeline grassland in the Cordillera Oriental, with one record from the Peruvian Cordillera Occidental.

Taxonomy

The contents and phylogenetic position of ''Phrynopus'' have long been uncertain, and many species once included in this genus have now been moved to other genera (''

Bryophryne ''Bryophryne'' is a genus of frogs in the family Strabomantidae. These frogs are endemic to south-eastern Peru in the Cusco Region, with an undescribed species from the Puno Region. Their range is separated from that of ''Phrynopus'' by the Apur� ...

'', '' Lynchius'', ''Isodactylus'' (now '' Hypodactylus''), ''

Noblella ''Noblella'' is a genus of frogs in the family Strabomantidae. They are found on the eastern slopes of the Andes and in the Amazon Basin in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and western Brazil. The name refers to Gladwyn K. Noble, who described ...

'', ''

Niceforonia ''Niceforonia'' is a genus of frogs in the family Strabomantidae found in northern South America (from central Peru to Ecuador and Colombia). The name refers to Nicéforo María, Colombian herpetologist. Taxonomy the genus ''Niceforonia'' was re ...

'', and ''

Psychrophrynella ''Psychrophrynella'' is a genus of frogs in the family Strabomantidae The genus is distributed on the Andes of southern Peru and Bolivia. One of the four species assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is assessed as ...

''). Hedges and colleagues placed it in 2008 in the family Strabomantidae,

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 ...

Strabomantinae.

Description

''Phrynopus'' are small to medium-sized frogs, from snout–vent length in ''

Phrynopus auriculatus ''Phrynopus auriculatus'' is a species of frog in the family Strabomantidae. It is endemic to Peru and only known from its type locality near Oxapampa, Pasco, at asl. It inhabits humid montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the s ...

'' to in ''

Phrynopus kauneorum ''Phrynopus kauneorum'' is a species of frogs in the family Strabomantidae. It is endemic to the Andes of Peru and known from near its type locality in the Pachitea Province, as well as from the Cordillera de Carpish, both in the Huánuco Regi ...

''. Head is narrower than the body. Differentiated

tympanic membrane In the anatomy of humans and various other tetrapods, the eardrum, also called the tympanic membrane or myringa, is a thin, cone-shaped membrane that separates the external ear from the middle ear. Its function is to transmit changes in pressur ...

and tympanic annulus are usually absent, except in ''Phrynopus auriculatus'' and '' Phrynopus peruanus'', two basal species. Dorsum is smooth to pustulate. Venter is smooth or areolate.

Species

The following species are recognised in the genus ''Phrynopus'':

References

{{Authority control Amphibians of South America Endemic fauna of Peru Amphibian genera Taxa named by Wilhelm Peters