Rhaebo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Rhaebo |
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| Rhaebo haematiticus, the type species | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Bufonidae |
| Genus: | Rhaebo Cope, 1862 |
| Type species | |
| Bufo haematiticus Cope, 1862
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| Diversity | |
| 13 species (see text) | |
| Synonyms | |
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Phrynomorphus Fitzinger, 1843—preoccupied by Phrynomorphus Curtis, 1831 (insect) |
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Rhaebo is a group of true toads found in Central and South America. These toads live from Honduras all the way down to the northern parts of South America. This includes the huge Amazon rainforest. Sometimes, people call them Cope toads.
Contents
Understanding Rhaebo Toads
How Scientists Group Animals
Scientists like to organize living things into groups. This helps them understand how different animals are related. Rhaebo is a "genus," which is a group of closely related species.
For a while, Rhaebo toads were thought to be part of another toad group called Bufo. But in 2006, scientists decided that Rhaebo was special enough to be its own separate genus. Most scientists agree with this idea today.
Another group of toads, Andinophryne, used to be considered a separate genus with three species. However, in 2015, researchers discovered that if Andinophryne stayed separate, the Rhaebo group wouldn't include all its natural family members. To make the grouping correct, the Andinophryne species were moved into the Rhaebo genus.
What Makes Rhaebo Toads Special?
Rhaebo toads have some unique features that help scientists identify them. They do not have bony ridges, called "cephalic crests," on their heads. Many other toad species have these crests.
They also have a special bone in their chest called an "omosternum." Inside their skull, a bone called the "sphenethmoid" is unusually wide. The parts of their skull that connect to their spine, called "exoccipital condyles," are also very noticeable.
One interesting thing about Rhaebo toads is their skin. When they feel threatened, they can release yellowish-orange liquid from their skin. This liquid helps protect them from predators.
Species of Rhaebo Toads
There are 13 different species of toads in the Rhaebo genus. Each one is a unique part of the toad family!
- Rhaebo andinophrynoides Mueses-Cisneros, 2009
- Rhaebo atelopoides (Lynch and Ruiz-Carranza, 1981)
- Rhaebo blombergi (Myers and Funkhouser, 1951)
- Rhaebo caeruleostictus (Günther, 1859)
- Rhaebo colomai (Hoogmoed, 1985)
- Rhaebo ecuadorensis Mueses-Cisneros, Cisneros-Heredia, and McDiarmid, 2012
- Rhaebo glaberrimus (Günther, 1869)
- Rhaebo guttatus (Schneider, 1799)
- Rhaebo haematiticus Cope, 1862
- Rhaebo hypomelas (Boulenger, 1913)
- Rhaebo lynchi Mueses-Cisneros, 2007
- Rhaebo nasicus (Werner, 1903)
- Rhaebo olallai (Hoogmoed, 1985)
See also
In Spanish: Rhaebo para niños
