Phyllomedusidae Günther, 1859

Duellman, William E., Marion, Angela B. & Hedges, Blair, 2016, Phylogenetics, classification, and biogeography of the treefrogs (Amphibia: Anura: Arboranae), Zootaxa 4104 (1), pp. 1-109 : 32

Family Phyllomedusidae Günther, 1859

Phyllomedusidae Günther, “1858 ” 1859:346. Type genus: Phyllomedusa Wagler, 1830 , by monotypy.

Definition. Iris vertically elliptical; arciferal pectoral girdle, eight procoelous presacral vertebrae, separate calcaneum and astragalus, intercalary cartilages between terminal and penultimate phalanges, claw-shaped terminal phalanges, SVL from 45 mm in Callimedusa atelopoides ( Duellman et al. 1988) to 119 mm in Phyllomedusa bicolor ( Venâncio & Melo-Sampiro, 2010) . Chromosome complement 2n = 26.

Content. Eight genera, 59 species.

Distribution. Neotropics, from Mexico to northern Argentina.

Etymology. The familial name is derived from the Greek phyll, meaning leaf, and the Greek Medousa. The name alludes to the gelatinous egg masses deposited on leaves of trees.

Remarks. Herein we include three genera that have not been recognized recently by previous authors. Two of these names are resurrected from the synonomies of Agalychnis and Phyllomedusa , whereas the third is new. Our maximum likelihood analysis includes 46 species, 78% of the known members of the family. In the parsimony analysis of 45 species by Faivovich et al. (2010), some of the same clades emerge as in our analysis. The principal difference is in the proposed classifications. Our proposal of three additional genera is a reflection on some of the species groups recognized by Faivovich et al. (2010). We recovered a major clade of phyllomedusids with 100% support. Within this clade are large frogs, genus Phyllomedusa (100% support), with vomerine teeth and another clade with 100% support of smaller frogs lacking vomerine teeth (100% support). Within the latter are two clades with significant support. One clade, Pithecopus (100% support), is characterized by having opposable thumbs and no bright flash colors. In the second clade, Callimedusa (78% support), the thumb is not opposable, and with one exception, all have bright flash colors.