Neha Patil (Editor)

Sooglossidae

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Kingdom
  
Animalia

Suborder
  
Neobatrachia

Phylum
  
Chordata

Order
  
Frog

Class
  
Amphibia

Scientific name
  
Sooglossidae

Rank
  
Family

Sooglossidae islandbiodiversitycompipilodryasjpg

Similar
  
Ghost frog, Allophryne, Shovelnose frog, Arthroleptidae, Leiopelmatidae

The Seychelles frogs (Sooglossidae) are a family of frogs found on the Seychelles Islands and India. Until recently, this family was believed to include the genera Nesomantis and Sooglossus, but following a major revision of amphibians in 2006, the genus Nesomantis was named a junior synonym of Sooglossus; conversely, the recently discovered purple frog, which was initially assigned to a distinct monotypic family (Nasikabatrachidae), is now included in the Sooglossidae.

All of the species are relatively small terrestrial frogs, about 4 cm (1.6 in) in length, hiding under fallen leaves or in rock crevices. They are unusual for the neobatrachials, in that they undertake inguinal amplexus, a primitive version of amplexus. Except for N. sahyadrensis, they lay their eggs on moist ground, rather than in water. Several species lack tadpoles, with the eggs hatching directly into froglets. The tadpoles of S. sechellensis are carried, abnormally, on the backs of the female frogs until metamorphosis.

There is no fossil record for the family. Ancestors diverged when the Seychelles Islands split from India about 100 million years ago.

Taxonomy

The family was first described in 1931 by Gladwyn Kingsley Noble (1894–1940).

  • Genus Sechellophryne
  • Gardiner's Seychelles frog (S. gardineri)
  • Seychelles palm frog (S. pipilodryas)
  • Genus Sooglossus
  • Seychelles frog (S. sechellensis)
  • Thomasset's frog (S. thomasseti)
  • Genus Nasikabatrachus
  • Purple frog N. sahyadrensis
  • References

    Sooglossidae Wikipedia