Painted Forest Toadlet

About the Painted Forest Toadlet

Engystomops petersi (common name: Peters' dwarf frog) is a species of frog in the family Leptodactylidae. It is found in Amazonian Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. It is morphologically similar to its sibling species, Engystomops freibergi, and for a period the latter was considered to be a junior synonym of Engystomops petersi. Taxonomy and classification of this species is constantly changing due to the continual evolution of behavioral isolation and rapid speciation in the region. There are also records from the Guianas that have not yet been allocated to either species. Divergence of these two species seems to have been driven by behavioural isolation related to male call characteristics more than geographic isolation.

The genus Engystomops is part of the family Leptodactylid. Previously, the genus Engystomops was grouped in with other Amazonian genera like Eupemphix and Physalaemus. These names are routinely exchanged making it hard to characterize differences among different species. Previously, Eupemphix paraensis, Eupemphix schereri, and Engystomops petersi were considered to be distinct species, however morphological analyses of these frogs revealed that they were... Wikipedia →