| Brevicipitidae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Cape rain frog (Breviceps gibbosus) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Clade: | Afrobatrachia |
| Family: | Brevicipitidae Bonaparte, 1850 |
| Type genus | |
| Breviceps Merrem, 1820 | |
| Type species | |
| Breviceps gibbosus | |
| Genera | |
See text. | |
TheBrevicipitidae orrain frogs are a smallfamily offrogs found in eastern and southernAfrica. As of 2025, it contains 38 species in 5 genera.[1][2] Formerly included as subfamily inMicrohylidae (narrow-mouth frogs),phylogenetic research has indicated the brevicipitine frogs should be considered as a family, withHemisotidae (shovelnose frogs) as the most closely related sister taxon.[3][4][5]
Most adult brevicipitine frogs are not easily seen as they spend extended periods of time in soil orleaf litter. However, some species might be partly arboreal at times.[6] Many species show strongsexual size dimorphism, with females being much larger than males.[1]
Frogs inBreviceps andProbreviceps genera are known to breed bydirect development, in which small froglets emerge from eggs without intervening aquatictadpole phase. It is likely that the same applies to the other genera, too. Because maleBreviceps frogs are smaller than their female counterparts, amplexus is not possible; however mating pairsglue themselves together using excretions fromholocrine glands on the ventrum of the male and similar glands on the dorsum of the female.[7] The frogs lay small clutches of 13–56 fairly large eggs (4–8 mm diameter not including the protective capsule) in cover, often in burrows. With some species either the male or the female stays with eggs or close to the egg chamber, though the details and extent of brood care is poorly understood within Brevicipitidae as a whole.[6]
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