Engystomops
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| Engystomops | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Engystomops petersi | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Leptodactylidae |
| Subfamily: | Leiuperinae |
| Genus: | Engystomops Jiménez de la Espada, 1872 |
| Species | |
|
9 (see text) | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
Microphryne Peters, 1873 | |
Engystomops is a genus of frogs in the family Leptodactylidae.[1] They are commonly known as foam frogs[1] or túngara frogs,[2] though the latter name most commonly refers to Engystomops pustulosus. They are native to the Americas from southern Mexico south to the Amazon Basin.[1][2]
This genus was maintained on its own until 1970, when it was merged into Physalaemus, a genus of similar frogs. As studies progressed, there was increasing evidence that Physalaemus was not a monophyletic group; it was made up of several groups. One of those groups consisted of several frogs more closely related to each other than to the rest of the Physalaemus, and they were represented by P. pustulosus, now Engystomops pustulosus. This group was split off in 2005 on the basis of characters such as basic morphology and vocalizations, as well as allozyme and other genetic analysis. The group was given the revalidated name Engystomops. It included two newly described species.[3]