Chiasmocleis

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(Redirected from Syncope (genus))

Chiasmocleis
Chiasmocleis albopunctata
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Microhylidae
Subfamily: Gastrophryninae
Genus: Chiasmocleis
Méhelÿ, 1904
Type species
Engystoma albopunctatum
Boettger, 1885
Species

36 species (see text)

Synonyms[1]
  • Nectodactylus Miranda-Ribeiro, 1924
  • Syncope Walker, 1973
  • Unicus de Sá, Tonini, van Huss, Long, Cuddy, Forlani, Peloso, Zaher, and Haddad, 2019
  • Relictus de Sá, Tonini, van Huss, Long, Cuddy, Forlani, Peloso, Zaher, and Haddad, 2018 "2019" – preoccupied by Relictus Hubbs and Miller 1972
  • Relictocleis Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021

Chiasmocleis is a genus of microhylid frogs.[1][2] They are found in tropical South America north and east of the Andes. Their common name is humming frogs or silent frogs, the latter referring to the formerly recognized Syncope.[1]

Taxonomy[edit]

There has been various attempts to delimit this genus in a way that would make it monophyletic. As of mid 2021,[1] it is recognized as including the former Syncope, but consisting of three clades ranked as subgenera:[1][3]

  • Chiasmocleis Méhelÿ, 1904
  • Syncope Walker, 1973
  • Relictocleis Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021 (syn. Unicus, Relictus)

Of these, Relictocleis is the most divergent[3] and may even be considered a separate, monotypic genus, with Relictocleis gnoma as its sole member.[1]

small frog sitting on the ground
Chiasmocleis quilombola

Description[edit]

Chiasmocleis are small-bodied frogs with small limbs. They are sexually dimorphic, with males having darker chin, abundant to no dermal spines, and variable degree of pedal webbing. Subgenus Syncope is characterized by size reduction and reduction or loss of phalanges and digits. Also Relictocleis are particularly small.[3]

Ecology[edit]

Chiasmocleis are fossorial or semi-fossorial and well camouflaged among the leaf litter or underground. They only forage on the surface for a few days during periods of explosive breeding at the beginning of the rainy season. They occur in both forested and open environments.[3]

Species[edit]

small frog sitting on the ground
Chiasmocleis crucis

The following species are recognised in the genus Chiasmocleis:[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Frost, Darrel R. (2021). "Chiasmocleis Méhely, 1904". Amphibian Species of the World: An Online Reference. Version 6.1. American Museum of Natural History. doi:10.5531/db.vz.0001. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  2. ^ "Chiasmocleis Méhely, 1904". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
  3. ^ a b c d de Sá, Rafael O.; Tonini, João Filipe Riva; van Huss, Hannah; Long, Alex; Cuddy, Travis; Forlani, Mauricio C.; Peloso, Pedro L.V.; Zaher, Hussam & Haddad, Célio F.B. (2019) [2018]. "Multiple connections between Amazonia and Atlantic Forest shaped the phylogenetic and morphological diversity of Chiasmocleis Mehely, 1904 (Anura: Microhylidae: Gastrophryninae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 130: 198–210. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2018.10.021. PMID 30347238.