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Breviceps
	Bushveld rain frog, B. adspersus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Anura
Family:	Brevicipitidae
Genus:	Breviceps; Merrem, 1820
Type species
	Rana gibbosa; Linnaeus, 1758
Species
	See text

Breviceps is a genus of frogs in the family Brevicipitidae. Species in the genus Breviceps are commonly known as rain frogs or short-headed frogs.^[1]^[2] They occur in arid to semiarid climates of Eastern and Southern Africa.^[1]

Taxonomy

The genus Breviceps consists of 20 species, of which most occur in southern Africa. There are five species found in the Western Cape, B. gibbosus, B. fuscus (black rain frog), B. rosei (Rose's rain frog), B. montanus (mountain rain frog) and B. acutirostris (strawberry rain frog). Two species are found in arid areas and other species are found in the eastern and northern parts of southern Africa.^[3]

Breviceps acutirostris, Strawberry rain frog Poynton, 1963
Breviceps adspersus, Bushveld rain frog Peters, 1882
Breviceps bagginsi, Bilbo's rain frog Minter, 2003
Breviceps branchi, Branch's rain frog Channing, 2012
Breviceps carruthersi, Phinda rain frog Du Preez, Netherlands, and Minter, 2017
Breviceps fichus, Highland rain frog Channing and Minter, 2004
Breviceps fuscus, Black rain frog Hewitt, 1925
Breviceps gibbosus, Giant rain frog (Linnaeus, 1758)
Breviceps macrops, Web-footed rain frog Boulenger, 1907
Breviceps montanus, Mountain rain frog Power, 1926
Breviceps mossambicus, Mozambique rain frog Peters, 1854
Breviceps namaquensis, Namaqua rain frog Power, 1926
Breviceps ombelanonga, Angolan rain frog Nielsen et al., 2020
Breviceps passmorei, Passmore's rain frog Minter, Netherlands, and Du Preez, 2017
Breviceps pentheri, Thicket rain frog Werner, 1899
Breviceps poweri, Power's rain frog Parker, 1934
Breviceps rosei, Rose's rain frog Power, 1926
Breviceps sopranus, Whistling rain frog Minter, 2003
Breviceps sylvestris, Forest rain frog FitzSimons, 1930
Breviceps verrucosus, Plaintive rain frog Rapp, 1842

Description

Species of the genus Breviceps are sexually dimorphic: males are much smaller than females.^[2] This prevents normal amplexus; instead, males and females produce an adhesive secretion from the skin that allows them to "stick" together during mating.^[2]^[4]

Ecology and behaviour

Species of the genus Breviceps spend most of the year underground; even when on the surface, they are inconspicuous because of their slow movements and cryptic colouration. They walk rather than hop. They are able to burrow rapidly, backwards, into the soil by using the enlarged, spade-like metatarsal tubercles on their feet.^[4]

These frogs emerge after rain to feed on small arthropods such as ants, termites, beetles, moths, woodlice, amphipods, juvenile millipedes, and caterpillars hence the name rain frogs. Reproduction also occurs during the rainy season. Choruses start immediately after heavy rains, although this may be delayed in colder areas. Eggs are laid in chambers below the surface of the soil, rocks, or fallen logs. After hatching, the movements of the tadpoles make the remains of the egg mass into a froth. The female remains close to the egg chamber until the tadpoles are fully developed.^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b Frost, Darrel R. (2016). "Breviceps Merrem, 1820". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Brevicipitidae". AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. [web application]. Berkeley, California: AmphibiaWeb. 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
^ "Cape rain frog". SANBI. Archived from the original on 2016-08-23. Retrieved 2016-09-13.
^ ^a ^b ^c Minter, Leslie Rory (1999). Aspects of the reproductive biology of Breviceps (Ph.D.). University of the Witwatersrand.