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''Chiasmocleis'' is a genus of
''Chiasmocleis'' are small-bodied frogs with small limbs. They are
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 ...
s. They are found in tropical South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
north and east of the Andes
The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...
. Their common name is humming frogs or silent frogs, the latter referring to the formerly recognized ''Syncope''.
Taxonomy
There has been various attempts to delimit this genus in a way that would make itmonophyletic
In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria:
# the grouping contains its own most recent co ...
. As of mid 2021, it is recognized as including the former ''Syncope'', but consisting of three 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 ...
s ranked as subgenera:
Of these, ''Relictocleis'' is the most divergent and may even be considered a separate, monotypic genus, with ''Relictocleis gnoma'' as its sole member.
Description
''Chiasmocleis'' are small-bodied frogs with small limbs. They are sexually dimorphic
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...
, with males having darker chin, abundant to no dermal spines, and variable degree of pedal webbing. Subgenus ''Syncope'' is characterized by size reduction and reduction or loss of phalanges and digits. Also ''Relictocleis'' are particularly small.
Ecology
''Chiasmocleis'' arefossorial
A fossorial animal () is one that is adapted to digging and which lives primarily (but not solely) underground. Examples of fossorial vertebrates are Mole (animal), moles, badgers, naked mole-rats, meerkats, armadillos, wombats, and mole salamand ...
or semi-fossorial and well camouflaged among the leaf litter or underground. They only forage on the surface for a few days during periods of explosive breeding at the beginning of the rainy season. They occur in both forested and open environments.
Species
The following species are recognised in the genus ''Chiasmocleis'':References
{{Authority control Microhylidae Amphibian genera Frogs of South America Taxa named by Lajos Méhelÿ