Phrynobatrachus Günther, 1862

Class: Amphibia > Order: Anura > Family: Phrynobatrachidae > Genus: Phrynobatrachus

Stenorhynchus Smith, 1849, Illust. Zool. S. Afr., 3 (Appendix): 23. Type species: Stenorhynchus natalensis Smith, 1849, by monotypy. Preoccupied by Stenorhynchus Hemprich, 1820. Synonymy by Günther, 1865 "1864", Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1864: 481; Günther, 1865, Zool. Rec., 1: 128; Peters, 1882, Naturwiss. Reise Mossambique, Zool. 3: 16; Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 111. Placed on the Official Index of Rejected and Invalid Generic Names in Zoology by Opinion 1921, Anonymous, 1999, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 56: 96-100.

Heteroglossa Hallowell, 1858 "1857", Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 9: 64. Type species: Heteroglossa africana Hallowell, 1858 "1857", by monotypy. Junior homonym of Heteroglossa Hallowell, 1858 "1857". Synonymy by Frost, Grant, Faivovich, Bain, Haas, Haddad, de Sá, Channing, Wilkinson, Donnellan, Raxworthy, Campbell, Blotto, Moler, Drewes, Nussbaum, Lynch, Green, and Wheeler, 2006, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 297: 238.

Phrynobatrachus Günther, 1862, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1862: 190. Type species: Phrynobatrachus natalensis Günther, 1862, by monotypy. Placed on the Official List of Generic Name by Opinion 1921, Anonymous, 1999, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 56: 96-100.

Hemimantis Peters, 1863, Monatsber. Preuss. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1863: 451. Type species: Hemimantis calcaratus Peters, 1863, by monotypy. Synonymy by Peters, 1875, Monatsber. Preuss. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1875: 211. Placed on the Official List of Generic Name by Opinion 1921, Anonymous, 1999, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 56: 96-100.

Leptoparius Peters, 1863, Monatsber. Preuss. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1863: 452. Replacement name for Stenorhynchus Smith, 1849, which is preoccupied by Stenorhynchus Bernhauer, 1917. Placed on the Official Index of Rejected and Invalid Generic Names in Zoology by Opinion 1921, Anonymous, 1999, Bull. Zool. Nomencl., 56: 96-100.

Dimorphognathus Boulenger, 1906, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Ser. 7, 17: 321. Replacement name for Heteroglossa Hallowell, 1858 "1857". Synonymy by Scott, 2005, Cladistics, 21: 531; Frost, Grant, Faivovich, Bain, Haas, Haddad, de Sá, Channing, Wilkinson, Donnellan, Raxworthy, Campbell, Blotto, Moler, Drewes, Nussbaum, Lynch, Green, and Wheeler, 2006, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 297: 238.

Pararthroleptis Ahl, 1925 "1923", Sitzungsber. Ges. Naturforsch. Freunde Berlin, 1923: 90. Type species: Pararthroleptis nanus Ahl, 1925 "1923", by subsequent designation of Deckert, 1938, Sitzungsber. Ges. Naturforsch. Freunde Berlin, 1938: 166. Synonymy with Arthroleptis by Deckert, 1938, Sitzungsber. Ges. Naturforsch. Freunde Berlin, 1938: 128. Synonymy with Phrynobatrachus by Dubois, 1981, Monit. Zool. Ital., N.S., Suppl., 15: 253.

Hylarthroleptis Ahl, 1925 "1923", Sitzungsber. Ges. Naturforsch. Freunde Berlin, 1923: 98. Type species: Hylarthroleptis accraensis Ahl, 1925 "1923", by subsequent designation of Loveridge, 1957, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 117: 346. Synonymy by Deckert, 1938, Sitzungsber. Ges. Naturforsch. Freunde Berlin, 1938: 163.

Phrynodon Parker, 1935, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Ser. 10, 16: 402. Type species: Phrynodon sandersoni Parker, 1935, by original designation. Synonymy by Scott, 2005, Cladistics, 21: 531; Frost, Grant, Faivovich, Bain, Haas, Haddad, de Sá, Channing, Wilkinson, Donnellan, Raxworthy, Campbell, Blotto, Moler, Drewes, Nussbaum, Lynch, Green, and Wheeler, 2006, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 297: 238.

Pseudarthroleptis Deckert, 1938, Sitzungsber. Ges. Naturforsch. Freunde Berlin, 1938: 158. Type species: Hemimantis calcaratus Peters, 1863, by original designation. Synonymy with Pararthroleptis Ahl, 1925 "1923" (as a subgenus) by Laurent, 1941, Rev. Zool. Bot. Afr., 34: 203; with Phrynobatrachus by Dubois, 1981, Monit. Zool. Ital., N.S., Suppl., 15: 253.

Micrarthroleptis Deckert, 1938, Sitzungsber. Ges. Naturforsch. Freunde Berlin, 1938: 159. Type species: Arthroleptis pygmaeus Ahl, 1925 "1923", by original designation. Considered a subgenus of Phynobatrachus by Laurent, 1941, Rev. Zool. Bot. Afr., 34: 208. Synonymy with Phrynobatrachus by Dubois, 1981, Monit. Zool. Ital., N.S., Suppl., 15: 253.

Incertae Sedis

Arthroleptis moorii Boulenger, 1898, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1898: 479. Holotype: BMNH, by original designation and figured in pl. 38, fig.2 of the original publication. Type locality: "Kinyamkolo [= Nyamkolo], Lake Tanganyika". A member of Phrynobatrachus on the basis of evidence given in the original description, e.g., presence of a tarsal tubercle (A. Channing, personal commun.).

English Names

Puddle Frogs (Broadley, 1971, Puku, 6: 117; Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 5; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 164; Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 302; Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 268).

Toad Frogs (Van Dijk, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 17: 15; Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 5).

African River Frogs (Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 103).

Hook Frogs (Phrynodon [no longer recognized]: Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 104).

African Swamp Frogs (Dimorphognathus [no longer recognized]: Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 98).

Distribution

Africa south of the Sahara, excluding southwestern Rep. South Africa.

Comment

See Laurent, 1941, Rev. Zool. Bot. Afr., 34: 192-210, and Poynton, 1964, Ann. Natal Mus., 17: 137-144, for generic definition and discussions. See Poynton and Broadley, 1985, Ann. Natal Mus., 27: 157-172, for species of south-central Africa. Perret, 1988, Arch. Sci., Genève, 41: 275-294, reviewed the species with a spine on the upper eyelid. Rödel, 2000, Herpetofauna W. Afr., 1, discussed the species of the west African savannas and noted that the taxon is in great need of revision. Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 302-313, provided a key and accounts for the species of southern Africa, and Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 268-298, provided a key and account for the species of East Africa. Zimkus and Blackburn, 2008, Breviora, 513: 1-12, discussed the external characteristics that separate Phrynobatrachus from Arthroleptis (Arthroleptidae) and provided a data matrix of the species for morphology. Frétey, 2008, Alytes, 25: 99-172, discussed the distinctiveness of Arthroleptis and Phrynobatrachus and provided a nomenclator for both groups. Zimkus, 2009, Zool. J. Linn. Soc., 157: 796-813, discussed the biogeography and phylogenetics of Cameroonian species. Zimkus, Rödel, and Hillers, 2010, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 55: 883-900, discussed molecular phylogenetics, ecological and historical biogeography, and discerned three major clades within Phrynobatrachus, for which the name Phrynodon Parker, 1935, is available for their group A, Hemimantis Peters, 1863, for their group B, and Phrynobatrachus Günther, 1862, for their group C. Mercurio, 2011, Amph. Malawi: 218-240, provided accounts and an identification key for the species of Malawi.

Contained taxa

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