Skip to content
EntityQ134754· pop 23· linked from 69 articles

Mesobatrachia

Sign in to save

The Mesobatrachia (Ancient Greek μέσος (mésos, "middle") + batrachia ("frogs")) is a paraphyletic group of relatively primitive frogs. At the end of 2016, it contained 3 superfamilies (Pelobatoidea, Pelodytoidea and Pipoidea), 6 families, 16 genera, and 244 species. Recognized as a group in 1993, the name is contrasted with the primitive Archaeobatrachia and the more diverse and advanced Neobatrachia.

Wikidata facts

Instance of
taxon
Parent taxon
Anura
Image
Rhinophrynus dorsalis.jpg
Show 5 more facts
taxon name
Mesobatrachia
taxon rank
suborder
Commons category
Anura
topic's main category
Category:Mesobatrachia
start time
155700000-
Sources (1)

via Wikidata · CC0

~1 min read

Encyclopedic overview

1 sections
Contents
  • References

The Mesobatrachia (Ancient Greek μέσος (mésos, "middle") + batrachia ("frogs")) is a paraphyletic group of relatively primitive frogs. At the end of 2016, it contained 3 superfamilies (Pelobatoidea, Pelodytoidea and Pipoidea), 6 families, 16 genera, and 244 species. Recognized as a group in 1993, the name is contrasted with the primitive Archaeobatrachia and the more diverse and advanced Neobatrachia.

The Mesobatrachia comprise five fossorial families, including the spadefoot toads of Europe, North America, and East Asia, the parsley frogs, and the Mexican burrowing toad, as well as one obligatorily aquatic family, the Pipidae of Africa and South America. Later studies recognised that the group was paraphyletic with respect to Neobatrachia.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Mesobatrachia” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.