Pristimantis
| Pristimantis | |
|---|---|
| |
| P. elegans, Colombia | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Strabomantidae |
| Subfamily: | Pristimantinae |
| Genus: | Pristimantis Jiménez de la Espada, 1870[1][2] |
| Type species | |
| Pristimantis galdi | |
| Diversity | |
| About 620 species, see list | |
Pristimantis is a very speciose genus of frogs distributed in the southern Caribbean islands (Lesser Antilles) and in Central and South America from Honduras to northern Argentina and southern Brazil.[2] With 626 described species (as of February 2026),[2] the genus has more species than any other vertebrate genus.[3][4] Many of these species are endemic to the Northwestern Andean montane forests ecoregion in north-western South America.[5]
Etymology
The genus name is derived from the Greek πρίστις (serrated) and μάντις (arboreal frog).[1]
Taxonomy
Placement of this genus has varied greatly. Pristimantis was long included in the massive genus Eleutherodactylus, and considered part of the family Leptodactylidae. Currently, the genus is placed in the family Strabomantidae[4][6] or Craugastoridae.[2]
Species
As of February 2026, 626 Pristimantis species are recognised. New ones continue to be described on a regular basis – including 10 new species in 2025.[2]
References
- ^ a b c Jiménez de la Espada, M. (1870). "Fauna neotropicalis species quaedam nondum cognitae". Jornal de Sciências, Mathemáticas, Physicas e Naturaes. 3: 57–65.
- ^ a b c d e f Frost, Darrel R. (2026). "Pristimantis Jiménez de la Espada, 1870". Amphibian Species of the World: An Online Reference. Version 6.2. American Museum of Natural History. doi:10.5531/db.vz.0001. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
- ^ Acevedo, Aldemar A.; Palma, R. Eduardo; Olalla-Tárraga, Miguel Ángel (2022). "Ecological and evolutionary trends of body size in Pristimantis frogs, the world's most diverse vertebrate genus". Scientific Reports. 12 (1) 18106. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-22181-5.
- ^ a b "Strabomantidae". AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. [web application]. Berkeley, California: AmphibiaWeb. 2026. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
- ^ C. Michael Hogan & World Wildlife Fund. 2012. Northwestern Andean montane forests. ed. P. Saundry. Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for Science and the Environment. Washington DC
- ^ Blackburn, D.C.; Wake, D.B. (2011). "Class Amphibia Gray, 1825. In: Zhang, Z.-Q. (Ed.) Animal biodiversity: An outline of higher-level classification and survey of taxonomic richness" (PDF). Zootaxa. 3148: 39–55. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3148.1.8.
