''Scaphiophryne'' is a genus of

microhylid The Microhylidae, commonly known as narrow-mouthed frogs, are a geographically widespread family of frogs. The 683 species are in 57 genera and 11 subfamilies. Evolution A molecular phylogenetic study by van der Meijden, et al. (2007) has estima ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

. Some of the species are strikingly marked, while others are highly cryptic. They are rather plump and generally found on the ground. Several species in the genus are

threatened A threatened species is any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which is vulnerable to extinction in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensatio ...

because of

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

and overcollection for the international

pet trade Wildlife trade refers to the exchange of products derived from non-domesticated animals or plants usually extracted from their natural environment or raised under controlled conditions. It can involve the trade of living or dead individuals, tis ...

Behavior

Species within the genus are robust burrowing frogs, and they have an explosive breeding behavior. This type of behavior is typically seen for species living within temporary and seasonal habitats, which is the case in Madagascar.

Tadpoles

Tadpoles are intermediate in morphology between those of ranids and microhylids. They have rows of oral papillae, but not keratinized teeth or horny beaks. The unique ''Scaphiophryne'' larval morphology allows for filter-feeding and the ability to use the papillae to wipe particles from substrate and churn particles from the bottom of the water source of residence. The tadpole morphology allows for distinguishing from the Pseudohemisus subgenus.

Phylogeny details

The two subgenera, Scaphiophryne and Pseudohemisus, are monophyletic based on molecular analysis. The species within the Scaphiophryne subgenera are lineages that have been confirmed to be evolutionarily independent. This is based on analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear genes, where mitochondrial divergence was low, nuclear divergence was distinct, and nuclear heterozygosity was found to be high. Hybridization between species was not found, which has been previously hypothesized to happen.

Species

References

Microhylidae Endemic frogs of Madagascar Amphibian genera Taxa named by George Albert Boulenger {{Microhylidae-stub