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Discoglossidae:
A small family confined to Europe and northwestern Africa. These frogs possess slit-like pupils and may be brightly patterned. Alytes, one of the two genera, are known as the midwife toads; they are terrestrial, look like toads, and males attach egg clutches to their back and thighs (thus the common name) which they take to water when the larvae are ready to hatch. The genus Discoglossus resembles frogs of the genus Rana in skin texture. Members of this family emerge at night from underground burrows which they construct by digging headfirst. Females of some species vocalize in response to a male’s call morphological characters uniting the two genera are: 1) v-shaped parahyoid bone; 2) narrow epipubic cartilage plate; 3) lack of palatine bone; 4) 8 opisthocoelous vertebrae; 5) bicondylar articulation of urostyle and sacrum; 6) free ribs on vertebrae 2-4; 7) astragalus (tibiale) and calcaneum (fibulare) only fused at ends.
Genus:
Alytes (5 species)
Discoglossus (7 species) |
