Microhyla


Microhyla, commonly known as the rice frogs or narrow-mouthed frogs, is a genus of frogs in the family Microhylidae. It consists of at least 50 species of diminutive frogs. Members of this genus are widespread from Ryukyu Is. in Japan, and throughout South-east Asia,.

Diagnosis

According to Seshadri et al., this genus can be diagnosed using the following set of criteria: Adult frogs are of small size; pupil circular; skin on dorsum smooth; lateral side of body with markings from back of eye to vent; supratympanic fold present in adults; paratoid glands are absent, fingers without webbing, finger tips may or may not be dilated; oval tongue, its margin is entire and free at the base; the diameter of eye is smaller than snout; a thin layer of skin hides the tympanum; tubercles on hand distinct; distinct oval shaped inner metatarsal tubercle and rounded outer metatarsal tubercle; webbing in feet, rudimentary.

Evolutionary relationships

The genus Microhyla is closely related to Glyphoglossus within the family Microhylidae. Members of the genus Microhyla began diversifying from the most common ancestor around 45 million years ago and this resulted in forming Metaphrynella and Microhyla. However, ascertaining the phylogenetic relationship of frogs within Microhyla has been difficult as many species are not monophyletic.

Species

The following species are recognised in the genus Microhyla: and Seshadri:
In central Vietnam, several new species of Microhyla have been described in the 2000s:
Several new species of Microhyla have been described since 2018.

Phylogeny

The following phylogeny of the genus Microhyla is from Khatiwada, et al.. 27 species are listed, including various newly described species from South Asia.