Alsodidae |  |
26 species in 3 genera
Commonly Called Spiny-chest Frogs, Ground Frogs, or Rapids Frogs
Alsodes gargola
Photo by Richard Sage
(Click for family gallery)Generally a family of small to medium (25- 70 mm snout-vent length), yellow, brown or reticulated frogs from South America. Members of this family are found associated with forests or rivers; some are found in high-altitude grasslands. Most species of this family are poorly known, and much more information is needed on their natural history.
Alsodidae was first recognized by Pyron and Wiens (2011) when their molecular analysis could not support these genera within Cycloramphidae as it was not considered monophyletic. Subsequently Blotto et al (2013) could not support Limnomedusa within Alsodidae so its inclusion is tentative or provisional for now.
Written by AmphibiaWebNotable Family Characteristics
- Tadpoles are free-swimming in ponds and pools
- Found in forests, rivers, and some in arid regions
- Males of Alsodes develop discrete patches of spines on their chest and spiny protuberances on their thumb and second digit during the breeding season
- Distribution limited to South America, in regions of Patagonia, southern Brazil and the Andes.
Cartography Credit: Zoe Yoo, UC Berkeley
Range maps sources: AmphibiaWeb, UC Berkeley, and IUCN RedListRelevant References
Blotto, B. L., J. J. Nuñez, C. A. Úbeda, W. C. Wheeler, and J. Faivovich. 2013. Phylogenetic relationships of a Patagonian frog radiation, the Alsodes + Eupsophus clade (Anura: Alsodidae), with comments on the supposed paraphyly of Eupsophus. Cladistics 29: 113-131.
Pyron, R. A., and J. J. Wiens. 2011. A large-scale phylogeny of Amphibia including over 2800 species, and a revised classification of advanced frogs, salamanders, and caecilians. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 61: 543–583.
Genus Alsodes (19 species)
Alsodes australis no account no photos no sound/video Alsodes barrioi no account no photos no sound/video Alsodes cantillanensis account no photos no sound/video Alsodes coppingeri no account no photos no sound/video Alsodes gargola no account photos no sound/video Alsodes hugoi account photos no sound/video Alsodes igneus no account photos no sound/video Alsodes kaweshkari no account no photos no sound/video Alsodes montanus no account no photos no sound/video Alsodes monticola no account no photos no sound/video Alsodes neuquensis no account no photos no sound/video Alsodes nodosus no account photos no sound/video Alsodes norae account photos no sound/video Alsodes pehuenche no account no photos no sound/video Alsodes tumultuosus no account no photos no sound/video Alsodes valdiviensis account no photos no sound/video Alsodes vanzolinii account photos no sound/video Alsodes verrucosus no account photos no sound/video Alsodes vittatus no account no photos no sound/video
Genus Eupsophus (6 species)
Eupsophus calcaratus no account photos no sound/video Eupsophus emiliopugini no account photos no sound/video Eupsophus insularis no account photos no sound/video Eupsophus migueli account photos no sound/video Eupsophus roseus no account photos no sound/video Eupsophus vertebralis no account photos no sound/video
Genus Limnomedusa (1 species)
Limnomedusa macroglossa account photos no sound/video
Citation: AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. [web application]. Berkeley, California: AmphibiaWeb. Available: https://amphibiaweb.org/. (Accessed:
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