Pseudis
Pseudis | |
---|---|
Pseudis minuta | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Amphibia |
Order: | Anura |
Family: | Hylidae |
Tribe: | Dendropsophini |
Genus: | Pseudis Wagler, 1830 |
Type species | |
Rana paradoxa | |
Species | |
See text. |
Pseudis is a genus of South American frogs (swimming frogs) in the family Hylidae.[1] They are often common and frequently heard, but easily overlooked because of their camouflage and lifestyle, living in lakes, ponds, marshes and similar waters with extensive aquatic vegetation, often sitting at the surface among plants or on floating plants, but rapidly diving if disturbed. Whereas the adults are medium-sized frogs, their tadpoles are large; in some species the world's longest.[2][3][4]
Distribution
Pseudis species are distributed throughout tropical and subtropical South America, almost entirely east of the Andes (P. paradoxa is the only species with populations west of the Andes, in Colombia). They are found from Trinidad to northern Argentina, being absent only in Ecuador and Chile, highland regions, and the southernmost part of South America. All species occur in Brazil, and P. bolbodactyla, P. cardosoi, P. fusca and P. tocantins are endemic to this country.[1][5]
Description
These frogs have several adaptations to aquatic life, such as protuberant eyes, robust hind limbs, and fully webbed feet.[6] Nevertheless, they belong to the "true" tree frogs, family Hylidae.[1]
Breeding and feeding
Mating and egg-laying in Pseudis is typical of frogs. What sets them apart is their tadpoles that start out as fairly normal, but continue growing until reaching gigantic sizes, sometimes as much as 22–27 cm (9–11 in) in length in P. paradoxa and P. platensis.[3][5][7][8] They are the longest known tadpoles and also large compared to the adult frogs, which are 3.4–7.6 cm (1.3–3.0 in) in snout–to–vent length.[2][5] Less data is available for the tadpoles of most others members of the genus, but they too reach large sizes, although perhaps somewhat less than P. paradoxa and P. platensis.[9] Their adult frogs also average somewhat smaller with snout–to–vent lengths of 2.4–6.6 cm (0.9–2.6 in).[5][10][11] However, there are two outliers in the genus: The closely related P. cardosoi and P. minuta (equalling the proposed genus Podonectes, see Phylogenetic relationships) have more normal tadpoles that are not known to surpass lengths of c. 9 cm (3.5 in).[9][11][12] This is still large compared to the adults of these two species, meaning that they too "shrink" during metamorphosis from tadpole to frog.[9] In most if not all the species, there are noticeable local variations in the final size of the tadpoles, with those in large temporary waters with plenty of food and few aquatic predators growing larger than those in smaller waters with less food or waters with more aquatic predators.[5] In at least the species with very large tadpoles, their final stages have unusually well-developed organs, including nearly ripe reproductive organs. This means that recently metamorphosed frogs rapidly reach maturity and essentially stop growing, whereas most other frogs take more time and growing after metamorphosis before they become mature.[3][5][13]
Pseudis is closely related to a second genus, Lysapsus, that lacks giant tadpoles and in which adults are smaller, up to 2.5 cm (1.0 in).[6][5]
Pseudis tadpoles feed mostly on a wide range of algae, but also take small invertebrates.[14][15] The adult frogs feed mostly on land-based insects and spiders, but also other land-based or aquatic invertebrates, small frogs and—in some species—plant material.[16][17][18][19]
Species
There are seven species in this genus (given that
Binomial name and author | Common name |
---|---|
Pseudis bolbodactyla Lutz, 1925 | |
Pseudis cardosoi Kwet, 2000 | |
Pseudis fusca Garman, 1883 | |
Pseudis minuta Günther, 1858 | lesser swimming frog |
Pseudis paradoxa (Linnaeus, 1758) | paradoxical frog |
Pseudis platensis Gallardo, 1961 | |
Pseudis tocantins Caramaschi & Cruz, 1998 |
Phylogenetic relationships
The
Phylogenetic relationships among species of the group were recently proposed using molecular evidences.
References
- ^ a b c d e Frost, Darrel R. (2013). "Pseudis Wagler, 1830". Amphibian Species of the World 5.6, an Online Reference. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
- ^ ISBN 978-0226184654.
- ^ S2CID 83912058.
- ^ Franklyn, D. (2015). Pseudis paradoxa (Paradoxical Frog). The Online Guide to the Animals of Trinidad and Tobago. Retrieved 7 January 2020
- ^ .
- ^ a b c d GARDA, A. A., and D. C. CANNATELLA. 2007. Phylogeny and biogeography of paradoxical frogs (Anura, Hylidae, Pseudae) inferred from 12S and 16S mitochondrial DNA. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 44:104-114.
- ^ Bokermann, W.C.A. (1967). "Girinos de anfíbios brasileiros—3: sôbre um girino gigante de Pseudis paradoxa (Amphibia, Pseudidae)". Revista Brasileira de Biologia. 27: 209–212.
- .
- ^ a b c Santana, D. J.; F.D. Medeiros Magalhães; V.d. Avelar São Pedro; S. Mângia; T.F. Amado; A.A. Garda (2016). "Calls and tadpoles of the species of Pseudis (Anura, Hylidae, Pseudae)". Herpetological Journal. 26: 141–150.
- .
- ^ .
- .
- ^ Downie, J.R.; K. Sams; P.T. Walsh (2009). "The paradoxical frog Pseudis paradoxa: larval anatomical characteristics, including gonadal maturation". Herpetological Journal. 19: 1–10.
- .
- PMID 27508992.
- ^ Downie, J.R.; E.G. Hancock; A.P. Muir (2010). "The diet of the paradoxical frog Pseudis paradoxa in Trinidad, West Indies". Herpetological Journal. 20 (2): 111–114.
- S2CID 85090411.
- JSTOR 1566129.
- S2CID 84254037.
- ^ NOBLE, G. K. 1922. The phylogeny of Salientia. I. The osteology and thigh musculature; their bearing on classification and phylogeny. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 46:1-87.
- ^ PARKER, H. W. 1935. The frogs, lizards, and snakes of British Guiana. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 505-530.
- ^ SAVAGE, J. M., and A. L. DE CARVALHO. 1953. The family position of neotropical frogs currently referred to the genus Pseudis. Zoologica. 38:193-200.
- ^ a b DA SILVA, H. R. 1998. Phylogenetic relationships of the family Hylidae with emphasis on the relationships within the subfamily Hylinae (Amphibia: Anura). Department of Systematics and Ecology. University of Kansas.
- ^ DARST, C. R., and D. C. CANNATELLA. 2004. Novel relationships among hyloid frogs inferred from 12S and 16S mitochondrial DNA sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 31:462-475.
- ^ a b AGUIAR-JR., O., M. BACCI JR, A. P. LIMA, D. C. ROSSA-FERES, C. F. B. HADDAD, and S. M. RECCO-PIMENTEL. 2007. Phylogenetic relationships of Pseudis and Lysapsus (Anura, Hylidae, Hylinae) inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences. Cladistics. 23:455-463.
External links
- Frost, Darrel R. (2013). "Pseudis Wagler, 1830". Amphibian Species of the World 5.6, an Online Reference. American Museum of Natural History.