| Rhaebo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Rhaebo haematiticus, thetype species | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Bufonidae |
| Genus: | Rhaebo Cope, 1862 |
| Type species | |
| Bufo haematiticus Cope, 1862 | |
| Diversity | |
| 13 species (seetext) | |
| Synonyms | |
PhrynomorphusFitzinger, 1843—preoccupied byPhrynomorphusCurtis, 1831 (insect) | |
Rhaebo is a genus oftrue toads, family Bufonidae,[1][2][3] from Central and South America. They are distributed from Honduras to northern South America including the Amazonian lowlands. Common nameCope toads has been suggested for them.[1]
The genus was removed from the synonymy ofBufo in 2006; an alternative view has been to treat it as asubgenus ofBufo.[1] At present, it is widely recognized as a genus.[1][3][2][4]
Andinophryne, consisting of three species, was recognized as a separate genus until 2015 when it was found out that its recognition renderedRhaeboparaphyletic.[1][4] An alternative to synonymizing it withRhaebo would have been to erect a new genus forRhaebo nasicus, but this would have caused difficulty in assigning species without molecular data to correct genus.[4]
Rhaebo are characterized as lacking cephalic crests, havingomosternum, distinctively widesphenethmoid, prominent and notchedexoccipital condyles, and yellowish-orange skin secretions. It is not clear which of these characters are ancestral and which are derived (i.e.,synapomorphies).[4]
There are 13 species in this genus:[1][2]