Pelobatoidea


The Pelobatoidea are a superfamily of frogs. They typically combine a toad-like body shape with a frog-like, pointed face. Phylogenetically they stand between primitive frogs on the one side and higher frogs on the other and are therefore – among other things by characteristics of bone construction – in the suborder Mesobatrachia.
Per 2016, the Pelobatoidea contain 202 species in 11 genera and 2 families. The distribution covers Europe, North Africa and West Asia and Southeast Asia. Their sister group are the Pelodytoidea, consisting of North American spadefood toads and parsley frogs.
A striking characteristic is the vertically slit pupil in daylight. The tongue is thick, circular, and almost entirely adhering to the floor of the mouth. When mating the males clutches the females in the lumbar region, just before the hind legs.

Taxonomy to the genus level

Pelodytoidea