Kingdom Animalia Scientific name Ceratophryinae Higher classification Frog Order Frog | Superfamily Hyloidea Phylum Chordata Rank Family | |
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Lower classifications South American horned fr, Lepidobatrachus, Lepidobatrachus laevis, Devil frog, Odontophrynus | ||
The Ceratophryidae, known as common horned frogs, are a family of frogs found in South America. It is a relatively small family with three extant genera and 12 species. However, fossils of the giant Beelzebufo from Cretaceous Madagascar suggest the taxon may have once ranged throughout the prehistoric supercontinent of Gondwana.
Contents
Despite the common name, not all species in the subfamily have the horn-like projections at the eyes. They have a relatively large head with big mouth, and they are ambush predators able to consume large prey, including lizards, other frogs, and small mammals. They inhabit arid areas and are seasonal breeders, depositing many small eggs in aquatic habitats. Tadpoles are free-living and carnivorous (Ceratophrys and Lepidobatrachus) or grazers (Chacophrys).
Some species (especially from the genera Ceratophrys and Lepidobatrachus) are popular in herpetoculture.
Taxonomy
Placement of this clade has varied considerably over time, having been a subfamily within the Leptodactylidae for a long while. Later on, it has been raised to family level, either broadly defined, including the Telmatobiidae and Batrachylidae (as subfamilies Telmatobiinae and Batrachylinae, respectively), or as now is commonly accepted, as a smaller family with three genera.
Genera
The extant genera are:
In addition, a number of fossil taxa are included in this family, at least provisionally:
