Fossil record The oldest fossil of
Eleutherodactylus is a partial humerus from the
Early Oligocene-aged
San Sebastián Limestone of Puerto Rico, likely not long after the genus first dispersed to the Caribbean from South America.
Late Oligocene-aged
Eleutherodactylus fossils are also known from
sinkhole deposits in the
Suwanee Limestone of
Florida, USA, indicating that
Eleutherodactylus were formerly native to Florida (only present today as introduced species), and had likely dispersed out of the Caribbean to the North American mainland early on in their evolution. They appear to have been one of the dominant frog taxa in the region at the time, with over 174 individual remains known from these deposits. Preserved frog remains referred to
Eleutherodactylus have been reported from
Miocene aged
Dominican amber.
Phylogenetics The basis of forming this genus has been morphological, but sequence comparisons of
protein-encoding
DNA,
mitochondrial DNA, and
ribosomal RNA have shown geographic range is a much more consistent predictor of
cladistics for this group of frogs. The climbing habits of many species have
evolved independently. All true members of the genus have been clustered into
subgenera, but many less-related species require more genetic data before they are to be officially classified elsewhere. The theory that the eleutherodactyline colonization of
Central America and the
Caribbean from their origins in South America occurred during the
Cretaceous has fallen out of favor. The
fossil record, combined with
molecular clock analyses, indicate the subgenera were probably founded by small groups of individuals by
flotsam dispersal from South America during the
Eocene or
Oligocene epochs.
Land bridges would have been limited to facilitating dispersal between
West Indian islands, however, the Oligocene division of
Hispaniola and
Cuba resulted in further speciation. The distribution of the subgenus
Syrrhopus is most likely due to a secondary dispersal to Central America from the
Greater Antilles during the
Miocene. The formation of the
Panama Isthmus during the
Pliocene has caused some intercontinental distribution among the clades, although only 20 "South American frogs" have ever made it northwards after the original colonization.
Sensu stricto, however, it should exclude clades with distributions south of the
Panama Canal.
Species (
E. coqui) is likely the most well-known member of the genus. The following species are recognised in the genus
Eleutherodactylus: •
Eleutherodactylus aporostegus Schwartz, 1965 •
Eleutherodactylus bothroboans Schwartz, 1965 •
Eleutherodactylus campi (Stejneger, 1915) •
Eleutherodactylus counouspeus Schwartz, 1964 •
Eleutherodactylus diplasius Schwartz, 1973 •
Eleutherodactylus erythroproctus Schwartz, 1960 •
Eleutherodactylus feichtingeri Díaz, Hedges, and Schmid, 2012 •
Eleutherodactylus limbensis Lynn, 1958 •
Eleutherodactylus melatrigonum Schwartz, 1966 •
Eleutherodactylus notidodes Schwartz, 1966 •
Eleutherodactylus olibrus Schwartz, 1958 •
Eleutherodactylus orarius (Dixon, 1957) •
Eleutherodactylus paralius Schwartz, 1976 •
Eleutherodactylus rucillensis Cochran, 1939 •
Eleutherodactylus sommeri Schwartz, 1977 •
Eleutherodactylus staurometopon Schwartz, 1960 •
Eleutherodactylus tychathrous Schwartz, 1965 ====
West Indian (subgenus
Eleutherodactylus) ==== •
E. (E.) abbotti Cochran, 1923 •
E. (E.) amplinympha Kaiser, Green & Schmid, 1994 •
E. (E.) antillensis Reinhardt & Lütken, 1863 •
E. (E.) audanti Cochran, 1934 •
E. (E.) auriculatoides Noble, 1923 •
E. (E.) auriculatus Cope, 1862 •
E. (E.) barlagnei Lynch, 1965 •
E. (E.) bartonsmithi Schwartz, 1960 •
E. (E.) brittoni Schmidt, 1920 •
E. (E.) cochranae Grant, 1932 •
E. (E.) cooki Grant, 1932 •
E. (E.) coqui Thomas, 1966 •
E. (E.) eileenae Dunn, 1926 •
E. (E.) eneidae Rivero, 1959 •
E. (E.) flavescens Noble, 1923 •
E. (E.) fowleri Schwartz, 1973 •
E. (E.) glamyrus Estrada & Hedges, 1997 •
E. (E.) gryllus Schmidt, 1920 •
E. (E.) guantanamera Hedges, Estrada & Thomas, 1992 •
E. (E.) haitianus Barbour, 1942 •
E. (E.) hedricki Rivero, 1963 •
E. (E.) ionthus Schwartz, 1960 •
E. (E.) jasperi Drewry & Jones, 1976 •
E. (E.) johnstonei Barbour, 1914 •
E. (E.) juanariveroi Ríos-López & Thomas, 2007 •
E. (E.) karlschmidti Grant, 1931 •
E. (E.) lamprotes Schwartz, 1973 •
E. (E.) leberi Schwartz, 1965 •
E. (E.) locustus Schmidt, 1920 •
E. (E.) mariposa Hedges, Estrada & Thomas, 1992 •
E. (E.) martinicensis Tschudi, 1838 •
E. (E.) melacara Hedges, Estrada & Thomas, 1992 •
E. (E.) minutus Noble, 1923 •
E. (E.) montanus Schmidt, 1919 •
E. (E.) parabates Schwartz, 1964 •
E. (E.) patriciae Schwartz, 1965 •
E. (E.) pinchoni Schwartz, 1967 •
E. (E.) pituinus Schwartz, 1965 •
E. (E.) poolei Cochran, 1938 •
E. (E.) portoricensis Schmidt, 1927 •
E. (E.) principalis Estrada & Hedges, 1997 •
E. (E.) richmondi Stejneger, 1904 •
E. (E.) ronaldi Schwartz, 1960 •
E. (E.) schwartzi Thomas, 1966 •
E. (E.) unicolor Stejneger, 1904 •
E. (E.) varians Gundlach & Peters, 1864 •
E. (E.) wetmorei Cochran, 1932 •
E. (E.) wightmanae Schmidt, 1920 ====
West Indian (subgenus
Euhyas) ==== •
E. (Eu.) acmonis Schwartz, 1960 •
E. (Eu.) adelus Diaz, Cadiz & Hedges, 2003 •
E. (Eu.) albipes Barbour & Shreve, 1937 •
E. (Eu.) alcoae Schwartz, 1971 •
E. (Eu.) alticola Lynn, 1937 •
E. (Eu.) amadeus Hedges, Thomas & Franz, 1987 •
E. (Eu.) andrewsi Lynn, 1937 •
E. (Eu.) apostates Schwartz, 1973 •
E. (Eu.) armstrongi Noble & Hassler, 1933 •
E. (Eu.) atknisi Dunn, 1925 •
E. (Eu.) bakeri Cochran, 1935 •
E. (Eu.) beguei Díaz and Hedges, 2015 •
E. (Eu.) blairhedgesi Estrada, Díaz & Rodriguez, 1998 •
E. (Eu.) bresslerae Schwartz, 1960 •
E. (Eu.) brevirostris Shreve, 1936 •
E. (Eu.) caribe Hedges & Thomas, 1992 •
E. (Eu.) casparii Dunn, 1926 •
E. (Eu.) cavernicola Lynn, 1954 •
E. (Eu.) corona Hedges & Thomas, 1992 •
E. (Eu.) cubanus Barbour, 1942 •
E. (Eu.) cundalli Dunn, 1926 •
E. (Eu.) cuneatus Cope, 1862 •
E. (Eu.) darlingtoni Cochran, 1935 •
E. (Eu.) dimidiatus Cope, 1862 •
E. (Eu.) dolomedes Hedges & Thomas, 1992 •
E. (Eu.) emiliae Dunn, 1926 •
E. (Eu.) etheridgei Schwartz, 1958 •
E. (Eu.) eunaster Schwartz, 1973 •
E. (Eu.) furcyensis Shreve & Williams, 1963 •
E. (Eu.) fuscus Lynn & Dent, 1943 •
E. (Eu.) glandulifer Cochran, 1935 •
E. (Eu.) glanduliferoides Shreve, 1936 •
E. (Eu.) glaphycompus Schwartz, 1973 •
E. (Eu.) glaucoreius Schwartz & Fowler, 1973 •
E. (Eu.) goini Schwartz, 1960 •
E. (Eu.) gossei Dunn, 1926 •
E. (Eu.) grabhami Dunn, 1926 •
E. (Eu.) grahami Schwartz, 1979 •
E. (Eu.) greyi Dunn, 1926 •
E. (Eu.) griphus Crombie, 1986 •
E. (Eu.) guanahacabibes Estrada & Rodriguez, 1985 •
E. (Eu.) gundlachi Schmidt, 1920 •
E. (Eu.) heminota Shreve & Williams, 1963 •
E. (Eu.) iberia Estrada & Hedges, 1996 •
E. (Eu.) intermedius Barbour & Shreve, 1937 •
E. (Eu.) jamaicensis Barbour, 1910 •
E. (Eu.) jaumei Estrada & Alonso, 1997 •
E. (Eu.) jugans Cochran, 1937 •
E. (Eu.) junori Dunn, 1926 •
E. (Eu.) klinikowskii Schwartz, 1959 •
E. (Eu.) lentus Cope, 1862 •
E. (Eu.) leoncei Shreve & Williams, 1963 •
E. (Eu.) limbatus Cope, 1862 •
E. (Eu.) lucioi Schwartz, 1980 •
E. (Eu.) luteolus Gosse, 1851 •
E. (Eu.) maestrensis Díaz, Cádiz & Navarro, 2005 •
E. (Eu.) michaelschmidi Díaz, Cádiz & Navarro, 2007 •
E. (Eu.) monensis Meerwarth, 1901 •
E. (Eu.) nubicola Dunn, 1926 •
E. (Eu.) orcutti Dunn, 1928 •
E. (Eu.) orientalis Barbour & Shreve, 1937 •
E. (Eu.) oxyrhyncus Duméril & Bibron, 1841 •
E. (Eu.) pantoni Dunn, 1926 •
E. (Eu.) paulsoni Schwartz, 1964 •
E. (Eu.) pentasyringos Schwartz & Fowler, 1973 •
E. (Eu.) pezopetrus Schwartz, 1960 •
E. (Eu.) pictissimus Cochran, 1935 •
E. (Eu.) pinarensis Dunn, 1926 •
E. (Eu.) planirostris Cope, 1862 •
E. (Eu.) probolaeus Schwartz, 1965 •
E. (Eu.) rhodesi Schwartz, 1980 •
E. (Eu.) ricordii Duméril & Bibron, 1841 •
E. (Eu.) riparius Estrada & Hedges, 1998 •
E. (Eu.) rivularis Diaz, Estrada & Hedges, 2001 •
E. (Eu.) rogersi Goin, 1955 •
E. (Eu.) rufifemroralis Noble & Hassler, 1933 •
E. (Eu.) schmidti Noble, 1923 •
E. (Eu.) sciagraphus Schwartz, 1973 •
E. (Eu.) semipalmatus Shreve, 1936 •
E. (Eu.) simulans Diaz & Fong, 2001 •
E. (Eu.) sisyphodemus Crombie, 1977 •
E. (Eu.) tetajulia Estrada & Hedges, 1996 •
E. (Eu.) thomasi Schwartz, 1959 •
E. (Eu.) thorectes Hedges, 1988 •
E. (Eu.) toa Estrada & Hedges, 1991 •
E. (Eu.) tonyi Estrada & Hedges, 1997 •
E. (Eu.) turquinensis Barbour & Shreve, 1937 •
E. (Eu.) varleyi Dunn, 1925 •
E. (Eu.) ventrilineatus Shreve, 1936 •
E. (Eu.) warreni Schwartz, 1976 •
E. (Eu.) weinlandi Barbour, 1914 •
E. (Eu.) zugi Schwartz, 1958 ====
Hispaniolan (subgenus
Pelorius) ==== •
E. (P.) cattus Rodriguez, Dugo-Cota, Montero-Mendieta, Gonzalez-Voyer, Alonso Bosch, Vences, and Vilà, 2017 •
E. (P.) chlorophenax Schwartz, 1976 •
E. (P.) geitonos Díaz, Incháustegui, Marte, Köhler, Cádiz, and Rodríguez, 2018 •
E. (P.) hypostenor Schwartz, 1965 •
E. (P.) inoptatus Barbour, 1914 •
E. (P.) ligiae Incháustegui, Díaz, and Marte, 2015 •
E. (P.) neiba Incháustegui, Díaz, and Marte, 2015 •
E. (P.) nortoni Schwartz, 1976 •
E. (P.) parapelates Hedges & Thomas, 1987 •
E. (P.) ruthae Noble, 1923 ====
North/
Central American and
Cuban (subgenus
Syrrhophus) ==== •
E. (S.) albolabris Lynch & Lescure, 1980 •
E. (S.) angustidigitorum Taylor, 1940 •
Eleutherodactylus colimotl Grünwald, Reyes-Velasco, Franz-Chávez, Morales-Flores, Ahumada-Carrillo, Jones, and Boissinot, 2018 •
E. (S.) cystingnathoides Cope, 1877 •
E. (S.) dennisi Lynch, 1970 •
E. (S.) dilatus Davis & Dixon, 1955 •
E. (S.) erendirae Grünwald, Reyes-Velasco, Franz-Chávez, Morales-Flores, Ahumada-Carrillo, Jones, and Boissinot, 2018 •
E. (S.) floresvillelai Grünwald, Reyes-Velasco, Franz-Chávez, Morales-Flores, Ahumada-Carrillo, Jones, and Boissinot, 2018 •
E. (S.) grandis Dixon, 1957 •
E. (S.) grunwaldi Reyes-Velasco, Ahumada-Carrillo, Burkhardt, and Devitt, 2015 •
E. (S.) guttilatus Cope, 1879 •
E. (S.) humboldti Devitt, Tseng, Taylor-Adair, Koganti, Timugura, and Cannatella, 2023 •
E. (S.) interorbitalis Langebartel & Shannon, 1956 •
E. (S.) jaliscoensis Grünwald, Reyes-Velasco, Franz-Chávez, Morales-Flores, Ahumada-Carrillo, Jones, and Boissinot, 2018 •
E. (S.) jamesdixoni Devitt, Tseng, Taylor-Adair, Koganti, Timugura, and Cannatella, 2023 •
E. (S.) leprus Cope, 1879 •
E. (S.) longipes Baird, 1859 •
E. (S.) manantlanensis Grünwald, Reyes-Velasco, Franz-Chávez, Morales-Flores, Ahumada-Carrillo, Jones, and Boissinot, 2018 •
E. (S.) marnockii Cope, 1878 •
E. (S.) maurus Hedges, 1989 •
E. (S.) modestus Taylor, 1942 •
E. (S.) nietoi Grünwald, Reyes-Velasco, Franz-Chávez, Morales-Flores, Ahumada-Carrillo, Jones, and Boissinot, 2018 •
E. (S.) nitidus Peters, 1870 •
E. (S.) pallidus Duellman, 1958 •
E. (S.) pipilans Taylor, 1940 •
E. (S.) rubrimaculatus Taylor & Smith, 1945 •
E. (S.) rufescens (Duellman & Dixon, 1959) •
E. (S.) saxatilis Webb, 1962 •
E. (S.) symingtoni Schwartz, 1957 •
E. (S.) syristes Hoyt, 1965 •
E. (S.) teretistes Duellman, 1958 •
E. (S.) verrucipes Cope, 1885 •
E. (S.) verruculatus Peters, 1870 •
E. (S.) wixarika Reyes-Velasco, Ahumada-Carrillo, Burkhardt, and Devitt, 2015 •
E. (S.) zeus Schwartz, 1958 ==References==