Pleurodema Explained

Pleurodema is a genus of leptodactylid frogs from South America. They are sometimes known under the common name four-eyed frogs,^[1] although this name can also refer to a particular species, Pleurodema bibroni.^[2] The common name is a reference to two inguinal poison glands that resemble eyes.^[3] When threatened, the frog lowers its head and raises its rear. When the frog adopts this posture, the poison glands are also raised toward the predator. The predator may also confuse the frog's raised posterior for the head of a larger animal.^[4]

Species

The genus contains only the following 15 species:^[1]

• Pleurodema alium Maciel and Nunes, 2010
• Pleurodema bibroni Tschudi, 1838
• Pleurodema borellii (Peracca, 1895)
• Pleurodema brachyops (Cope, 1869)
• Pleurodema bufoninum Bell, 1843
• Pleurodema cinereum Cope, 1878
• Pleurodema cordobae Valetti, Salas, and Martino, 2009
• Pleurodema diplolister (Peters, 1870)
• Pleurodema guayapae Barrio, 1964
• Pleurodema kriegi (Müller, 1926)
• Pleurodema marmoratum (Duméril & Bibron, 1841)
• Pleurodema nebulosum (Burmeister, 1861)
• Pleurodema somuncurense (Cei, 1969)
• Pleurodema thaul (Lesson, 1827)
• Pleurodema tucumanum Parker, 1927

Notes and References

1. Web site: Pleurodema Tschudi, 1838 . Frost, Darrel R. . 2014 . Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0 . American Museum of Natural History . 3 June 2014.
2. Web site: Pleurodema bibroni Tschudi, 1838 . Frost, Darrel R. . 2014 . Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0 . American Museum of Natural History . 29 June 2014.
3. Web site: Species profile: four-eyed frog . Conservacion Patagonic . 2012-11-16 . 9 January 2014.
4. Book: Biology of Amphibians . JHU Press . Duellman, William E. . 1994 . Baltimore . 670 . 9780801847806.