Rhinodermatidae

Taxobox
name = Darwin's Frogs

---

image_caption = Darwin's Frog ("Rhinoderma darwinii")
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Amphibia
ordo = Anura
familia = Rhinodermatidae
genus = "Rhinoderma"
genus_authority = Duméril & Bibron, 1841
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = "R. darwinii"
"R. rufum"
range_

range_map_caption = Distribution of Rhinodermatidae (in black)

Darwin's frogs or Rhinodermatidae are a family of small frogs found on the south-west coast of South America. There is only one genus ("Rhinoderma"), with just two species, of which the Chile Darwin's Frog ("R. rufum") is highly endangered or may already be extinct. The better known Darwin's Frog ("R. darwinii") is vulnerable.

Both species are notable for their unusual breeding, with the tadpoles being raised inside the mouth of the malecite book |editor=Cogger, H.G. & Zweifel, R.G.|author= Zweifel, Robert G.|year=1998|title=Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians|publisher= Academic Press|location=San Diego|pages= 103|isbn= 0-12-178560-2] . The eggs are laid on the ground. The male frog will transport the tadpoles into its enlarged vocal sac. In the Chile Darwin's Frog, the tadpoles are transported to a water source and released for the duration of their development. In Darwin's Frog, they will reside in the vocal sac until metamorphosis. They may carry between 5 and 15 offspring. Darwin's frogs are separated into a separate family based purely upon this behavioural adaptation, which is unique among frogs.

Darwin's frogs are small, reaching a size of only convert|3|cm|in in length. They are predominantly green frogs, with patches of brown, and have a long, narrow nose. They are primarily terrestrial.

References

*
*