''Probreviceps'' is a small genus of brevicipitine

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 with only six members. They occur in the montane forests of

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

, and possibly

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

. They are sometimes known as the forest frogs, forest rain frogs, big-fingered frogs, or primitive rain frogs.

Description

''Probreviceps'' are burrowing frogs with short limbs and

direct development Direct development is a concept in biology. It refers to forms of growth to adulthood that do not involve metamorphosis. An animal undergoes direct development if the immature organism resembles a small adult rather than having a distinct larval ...

(i.e., there is no free-living larval stage); the eggs are deposited in burrows. Maximum

snout–vent length Snout–vent length (SVL) is a morphometric measurement taken in herpetology from the tip of the snout to the most posterior opening of the cloacal slit (vent)."direct line distance from tip of snout to posterior margin of vent" It is the mos ...

is between in males and between in females, depending on the species. Males often have larger

tympani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally ...

than females. No discs are present on fingers or toes. Species identification is based on male advertisement calls, features of hands and feet, and distribution.

Species

There are six recognized species: * '' Probreviceps durirostris'', Snouted forest frog * ''

Probreviceps loveridgei ''Probreviceps'' is a small genus of Brevicipitidae, brevicipitine frogs with only six members. They occur in the montane forests of Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and possibly Mozambique. They are sometimes known as the forest frogs, forest rain frogs, big ...

'', Loveridge's forest frog * '' Probreviceps macrodactylus'', Large-fingered forest frog * '' Probreviceps rhodesianus'', Highland forest frog * '' Probreviceps rungwensis'', Rungwe forest frog * '' Probreviceps uluguruensis'', Uluguru forest frog

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2343578 Brevicipitidae Amphibian genera Amphibians of Sub-Saharan Africa Taxa named by Hampton Wildman Parker