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Gastrotheca

Gastrotheca is a genus of frogs in the family Hemiphractidae. They are found in Central America south of Costa Rica and in South America. Most species occur in the American Cordillera from southern Costa Rica to north-western Argentina. This genus makes up the bulk of marsupial frog diversity; formerly it was placed in the "Leptodactylidae" assemblage.

Marsupial frogs are so-called because they possess a dorsal brood pouch. In some species the eggs are fertilized on the female's lower back, and are inserted in her pouch with the aid of the male's toes. The eggs remain in contact with the female's vascular tissue, which provides them oxygen.

Gastrotheca guentheri (Guenther's marsupial frog) is the only known frog with true teeth in its lower jaw. Gastrotheca riobambae (Andean marsupial tree frog) is kept as pet and is used in scientific experiments.

Gastrotheca gemma was additionally discovered in 2021.

Species

There are 74 species recognized in the genus Gastrotheca:

The AmphibiaWeb is listing 69 species as Gastrotheca lojana is not included.

Footnotes

References

  • Duellman, W.E., Catenazzi, A. & Blackburn, D.C. (2011): A new species of marsupial frog (Anura: Hemiphractidae: Gastrotheca) from the Andes of southern Peru. Zootaxa 3095: 1-14.
  • Faivovich, J., Haddad, C.F.B., Garcia, P.C.O., Frost, D.R., Campbell, J.A. & Wheeler, W.C. (2005): Systematic review of the frog family Hylidae, with special reference to Hylinae: Phylogenetic analysis and taxonomic revision. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 294: 1–240.