Neobatrachia

TheNeobatrachia(Neo-Latinneo-( "new" ) +batrachia( "frogs" )) are asuborderof theAnura,theorderoffrogsandtoads.

Neobatrachians Temporal range: Early Cretaceous– recent,
Dendrobates tinctorius "azureus"
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Anura
Suborder:	Neobatrachia Reig, 1958
Subdivisions
†Cretadhefdaa †Indobatrachus Heleophrynoidea Hyloidea Australobatrachia Sooglossoidea Ranoidea

This suborder is the most advanced andapomorphicof the three anuran suborders alive today, hence its name, which literally means "new frogs" (from thehellenicwordsneo,meaning "new" andbatrachia,meaning "frogs" ). It is also by far the largest of the three; its more than 5,000 differentspeciesmake up over 96% of all living anurans.

The differentiation betweenArchaeobatrachia,Mesobatrachia,and Neobatrachia is based primarily onanatomicdifferences, especially theskeletalstructure, as well as several visible characteristics and behaviors.

Systematics

Separating theAnurainto the Archaeo-, Meso- and Neobatrachia is somewhat controversial; as more research is done and more knowledge is gained, it is becoming even less clear, because many characteristics used for this differentiation apply to more than one group.

Neobatrachia are usually sorted into fivesuperfamilies,but this division is also controversial, as somefamiliesare placed into different superfamilies by different authors. In addition, several families have been revealed to beparaphyleticand consequently divided to make them correspond tocladesand thus be natural,evolutionarygroups. This has approximately doubled the number of presently recognized neobatrachian families.

List of families

The clades and families currently accepted in the Neobatrachia are:

• SuperfamilyHeleophrynoidea:
  • Heleophrynidae– ghost frogs
• CladeAustralobatrachia:
  • Calyptocephalellidae– Chilean toads
  • SuperfamilyMyobatrachoidea
    • Limnodynastidae– Australian ground frogs
    • Myobatrachidae– Australian froglets
• SuperfamilyHyloidea:
  • Allophrynidae– Tukeit hill frogs
  • Amphignathodontidae– marsupial frogs (sometimes in Hemiphractidae)
  • Alsodidae
  • Batrachylidae
  • CladeBrachycephaloidea
    • CaligophrynidaeFouquetet al,2023
    • Brachycephalidae– saddleback toads
    • Ceuthomantidae– emerald-barred frogs
    • CraugastoridaeHedges, Duellmann & Heinicke, 2008(formerly in Brachycephalidae)
    • EleutherodactylidaeLutz, 1954(formerly in Brachycephalidae)
    • NeblinaphrynidaeFouquetet al,2023
    • StrabomantidaeHedges, Duellmann & Heinicke, 2008(some formerly in Brachycephalidae)
  • Bufonidae– true toads
  • Centrolenidae– glass frogs
  • Ceratophryidae– horned toads
  • Cycloramphidae
  • CladeDendrobatoidea
    • Aromobatidae– skunk frog (sometimes in Dendrobatidae)
    • Dendrobatidae– poison dart frogs
  • Hemiphractidae– marsupial frogs
  • Hylidae– truetree frogsand relatives
  • Hylodidae– giant Neotropical torrent frogs
  • Leiuperidae(sometimes in Leptodactylidae)
  • Leptodactylidae– southern frogs, tropical frogs
  • Odontophrynidae
  • Rhinodermatidae– Darwin's frogs
  • Telmatobiidae– water frogs
• SuperfamilySooglossoidea:
  • Nasikabatrachidae– purple frogs
  • Sooglossidae– Seychelles frogs
• SuperfamilyRanoidea:
  • Microhylidae– narrow-mouthed frogs
  • CladeAfrobatrachia:
    • Arthroleptidae– squeakers
    • Brevicipitidae– rain frogs
    • Hemisotidae– shovelnose frogs
    • Hyperoliidae– sedge frogs, "bush frogs"
  • CladeNatatanura:
    • Ceratobatrachidae
    • Conrauidae
    • Dicroglossidae– fork-tongued frogs
    • Micrixalidae– dancing frogs
    • Mantellidae– Malagasy frogs
    • Nyctibatrachidae– night frogs
    • Odontobatrachidae
    • Petropedetidae– torrent frogs
    • Phrynobatrachidae– puddle frogs
    • Ptychadenidae– grassland frogs
    • Pyxicephalidae
    • Ranidae– true frogs
    • Ranixalidae– Indian frogs
    • Rhacophoridae– shrub frogs, "bush frogs","moss frogs"

Further reading

• Gissi, Carmela; Diego San Mauro; Graziano Pesole; Rafael Zardoya (February 2006). "Mitochondrial phylogeny of Anura (Amphibia): A case study of congruent phylogenetic reconstruction using amino acid and nucleotide characters".Gene.366(2): 228–237.doi:10.1016/j.gene.2005.07.034.PMID16307849.
• Hoegg, Simone; Miguel Vences; Henner Brinkmann; Axel Meyer (July 2004)."Phylogeny and comparative substitution rates of frogs inferred from sequences of three nuclear genes".Molecular Biology and Evolution.21(7): 1188–1200.doi:10.1093/molbev/msh081.PMID14963093.
• San Mauro, Diego; Miguel Vences; Marina Alcobendas; Rafael Zardoya; Axel Meyer (May 2005)."Initial diversification of living amphibians predated the breakup of Pangaea"(PDF).American Naturalist.165(5): 590–599.doi:10.1086/429523.PMID15795855.S2CID17021360.