Rhinella, commonly known as South American toads, beaked toads or Rio Viejo toads, is a genus of true toads native to Neotropical parts of Mexico, Central and South America. Additionally, the cane toad has been Introduced to Australia, the Caribbean, the Philippines and elsewhere.
Originally, all species of the genus Rhinella were included in the genus Bufo, then they were split into the genera Chaunus and Rhamphophryne. However, Chaunus and Rhamphophryne are now considered synonyms of Rhinella.
Etymology
- Rhinella means ‘little nose’, from rhino- (ῥῑνο-), the combining form of the Ancient Greek rhis (ῥίς, ‘nose’) and the Latin diminutive suffix -ella.
- Chaunus is the Latinised form of the Ancient Greek chaûnos (χαῦνος, ‘porous, spongy’).
- Rhamphophryne, meaning “beaked toad”, is from rhamphos (ῥάµϕος, ‘beak’) and phrunē (φρύνη, ‘toad’).
Species
There are about 94 living species recognised in the genus Rhinella:
Notes
References
- Frost, Darrel (2006). "The Amphibian Tree of Life". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 297: 1–371.
External links
- Data related to Rhinella at Wikispecies
