Asterophryinae facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Asterophryinae |
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| Paedophryne dekot | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Microhylidae |
| Subfamily: | Asterophryinae Günther, 1858 |
| Genera | |
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See text. |
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| Synonyms | |
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Asterophryinae is a group of small frogs. They are part of the microhylid frog family. You can find these tiny frogs in areas from Peninsular Malaysia across the Malay Archipelago to northern Australia.
What Kinds of Frogs Are in Asterophryinae?
This group, Asterophryinae, includes many different types of frogs. Scientists have identified several genera (groups of species) within this subfamily.
- Aphantophryne Fry, 1917
- Asterophrys Tschudi, 1838
- Austrochaperina Fry, 1912
- Barygenys Parker, 1936
- Callulops Boulenger, 1888
- Choerophryne Van Kampen, 1914
- Cophixalus Boettger, 1892
- Copiula Méhely, 1901
- Gastrophrynoides Noble, 1926
- Hylophorbus Macleay, 1878
- Mantophryne Boulenger, 1897
- Oninia Günther, Stelbrink, and von Rintelen, 2010
- Oreophryne Boettger, 1895
- Paedophryne Kraus, 2010
- Siamophryne Suwannapoom, Sumontha, Tunprasert, Ruangsuwan, Pawangkhanant, Korost & Poyarkov, 2018
- Sphenophryne Peters and Doria, 1878
- Vietnamophryne Poyarkov, Suwannapoom, Pawangkhanant, Aksornneam, Duong, Korost, & Che, 2018
- Xenorhina Peters, 1863 (synonym: Xenobatrachus Peters and Doria, 1878)
The genus Oreophryne has the most species, with 71 different kinds of frogs. On the other hand, Oninia and Siamophryne are monotypic. This means each of these groups has only one known species.
In 2018, two new genera, Siamophryne and Vietnamophryne, were added to the Asterophryinae family.
How Big Are Asterophryinae Frogs?
Most microhylid frogs are quite small. Some species, like Callulops robustus and Asterophrys turpicola, can grow to be over 50 mm (2.0 in) long. This measurement is called their snout-vent length (SVL), which is the distance from their nose to their bottom.
However, frogs in the genus Paedophryne are especially tiny. For example, Paedophryne amauensis is known as the smallest vertebrate (animal with a backbone) in the world! It is only about 7.7 mm (0.30 in) long on average. That's smaller than a pencil eraser!
