| Thoropa | |
|---|---|
| |
| Thoropa miliaris | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Cycloramphidae |
| Genus: | Thoropa Cope, 1865 |
| Type species | |
| Cystignathus missiessii Eydoux and Souleyet, 1842 | |
| Species | |
|
7 species (see text) | |
Thoropa is a genus of frogs in the family Cycloramphidae. They are endemic to eastern and southeastern Brazil. They are sometimes known as river frogs.
Description, ecology, and behavior
Thoropa are associated with rocks and have cryptic coloration. Their size ranges from small to medium, 28–102 mm (1.1–4.0 in) in snout–vent length. They occur at elevations up to 1,500 m (4,900 ft) above sea level; Thoropa miliaris and Thoropa taophora can even live on rocky marine shores, foraging in the intertidal zone. Male Thoropa are associated with wet rock faces, whereas the females seem to range more widely.
In species where reproduction is known, males are territorial—suitable wet rock faces are a scarce resource. Furthermore, mature male Thoropa feature characteristic clusters of dark spines on the inner portions of the hand. It appears that these are associated with male-male combat, probably in conjunction with territorial disputes. Scratch marks in males, but not in females, support this interpretation.
The eggs are laid on rocks with a thin layer of water. Tadpoles are semiterrestrial and have a depressed shape, long tail, and bulging eyes.
Male T. taophora frogs mate exclusively and repeatedly with two females per season in a polygynous system in which the semiterrestrial tadpoles from both females share the same freshwater seep. The females have a dominance hierarchy, and the males mate more with the dominant female.
Species
The genus contains the following species:
- Thoropa bryomantis Assis, Lacerda, Guimarães, Peixoto, Luna, and Feio, 2021
- Thoropa lutzi Cochran, 1938
- Thoropa megatympanum Caramaschi and Sazima, 1984
- Thoropa miliaris (Spix, 1824)
- Thoropa petropolitana (Wandolleck, 1907)
- Thoropa saxatilis Cocroft and Heyer, 1988
- Thoropa taophora (Miranda-Ribeiro, 1923)
References
- ^ Frost, Darrel R. (2018). "Thoropa Cope, 1865". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
- ^ "Cycloramphidae". AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. . Berkeley, California: AmphibiaWeb. 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
- ^ Nunes-de-Almeida, Carlos Henrique Luz (2015). Phylogenetic reconstruction based on internal and external morphology of the genus Thoropa Cope, 1865 (Anura, Cycloramphidae) (Master thesis). Universidade Estadual de Campinas.
- Abe, A. S. & Bicudo, J. E. P. W. (1991). "Adaptations to salinity and osmoregulation in the frog Thoropa miliaris (Amphibia, Leptodactylidae)". Zoologischer Anzeiger. 227: 313–318. hdl:11449/117830.
- Brasileiro, Cinthia A.; Martins, Marcio & Sazima, Ivan (2010). "Feeding ecology of Thoropa taophora (Anura: Cycloramphidae) on a rocky seashore in southeastern Brazil" (PDF). South American Journal of Herpetology. 5 (3): 181–188. doi:10.2994/057.005.0303. S2CID 55176548.
- ^ Cocroft, R. B. & Heyer, W. R. (1988). "Notes on the frog genus Thoropa (Amphibia: Leptodactylidae) with a description of a new species (Thoropa saxatilis)". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 101: 209–220.
- ^ de Sá, F.P.; Consolmagno, R.C.; Muralidhar, P.; Brasileiro, C.A.; Zamudio, K.R.; Haddad, C.F.B. (2020). "Unexpected reproductive fidelity in a polygynous frog". Science Advances. 6 (33): eaay1539. Bibcode:2020SciA....6.1539D. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aay1539. PMC 7423391. PMID 32851153.
| Taxon identifiers | |
|---|---|
| Thoropa | |