| Ceratophryidae | |
|---|---|
1.JPG) | |
| Ceratophrys ornata | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Superfamily: | Hyloidea |
| Family: | Ceratophryidae Tschudi, 1838 |
| Genera | |
3 extant genera, see text. | |
TheCeratophryidae, also known ascommon horned frogs, are a family offrogs found inSouth America. It is a relatively small family with threeextant genera and 12 species.[1][2][3] Despite the common name, not all species in the family have the horn-like projections at the eyes.[citation needed] They have a relatively large head with big mouth, and they are ambush predators able to consume large prey, including lizards, other frogs, and small mammals. They inhabit arid areas and are seasonal breeders, depositing many small eggs in aquatic habitats.Tadpoles are free-living and carnivorous (Ceratophrys andLepidobatrachus) or grazers (Chacophrys).[4]
Some species (especially from the generaCeratophrys andLepidobatrachus) are popular inherpetoculture.[citation needed]
The oldest fossils of the family are known from theMiocene epoch. The fossil giant frogBeelzebufo from theLate Cretaceous ofMadagascar was formerly considered to belong to this family, but is now excluded, but is possibly closely related, alongsideBaurubatrachus from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil.Wawelia from the Miocene of Argentina is no longer considered closely related.[5]
Placement of this clade has varied considerably over time, having been asubfamily within theLeptodactylidae for a long while. Later on, it has been raised to family level, either broadly defined, including theTelmatobiidae andBatrachylidae (as subfamilies Telmatobiinae and Batrachylinae, respectively[4]), or as now is commonly accepted, as a smaller family with three genera.[1][2][3]
In addition, a number of fossil taxa have been considered to be closely related, including:[5]