Phylogenetics, classification, and biogeography of the treefrogs (Amphibia: Anura: Arboranae) Author Duellman, William E. Author Marion, Angela B. Author Hedges, Blair text Zootaxa 2016 4104 1 1 109 journal article 10.11646/zootaxa.4104.1.1 9b3e7716-1099-48ca-803b-620c25d788f1 1175-5326 265809 D598E724-C9E4-4BBA-B25D-511300A47B1D Family Pelodryadidae Günther, 1859 Pelodryadidae Günther, “1858 ” 1859:345, Type genus: Pelodryas Günther, 1859 (= Litoria Tschudi, 1838 ), by original designation. Definition. Arciferal pectoral girdle, eight procoelous presacral vertebrae, astragalus and calcaneum not fused, intercalary cartilages between terminal and penultimate phalanges, claw-shaped terminal phalanges, SVL from 18 mm in female Litoria microbelos ( Anstis 2013 ) to 135 mm in Nyctimystes infrafrenatus ; free-living aquatic tadpoles with LTRF of no more than 2/3. Chromosome complement 2n = 26 (2n = 24 in Nyctimystes infrafrenatus ). Content. Two subfamilies, three genera, and 208 species. Distribution. Australia , Tasmania, New Guinea , Solomon Islands , Bismark Archipelago, Vanuatu , and Seram Island and Moluccas Islands in Indonesia . Introduced into New Caledonia and New Zealand . Etymology. The familial name is taken from the generic name Pelodryas , which is derived from the Greek pelo meaning clay or mud and the Greek dryos meaning tree; the implied meaning is unclear. Remarks. The phylogenetic relationships of pelodryadid frogs has been a major problem. As stated by Frost et al. (2006 :204–205), “The extensive paraphyly of ‘ Litoria ’ with respect to Cyclorana and ‘ Nyctimystes ’ remains the elephant in the room for Australian herpetology, and for reasons that escape us this spectacular problem has largely been ignored until recently.” As a result of their parsimony analysis that included three species of Nyctimystes and eight of Litoria (0.5% of known pelodryadids) Frost et al. (2006) considered Nyctimystes to be a junior synonym of Litoria , because the generic recognition of Nyctimystes made Litoria paraphyletic. In our analysis, Phyllomedusidae is the sister taxon of Pelodryadidae , and these two families form the sister group to Hylidae ( Fig. 2 ). The results of a maximum likelihood analysis of molecular data from 109 species (52% of known species) reveal three major clades of pelodryadids ( Fig. 2 ). Within Pelodryadidae two major clades of Litoria , as currently recognized, make Litoria paraphyletic with Nyctimystes intervening. Thus, we resurrect Dryopsophus for one of the clades of “ Litoria .” Furthermore, we recognize the subfamily Pelodryadinae to include Dryopsophus and Nyctimystes , while leaving Litoria as the single genus in Pelobiinae. This classification necessitates rearrangement of the generic synonyms of Litoria given by Frost (2015).