$-/Vfi-LfcuJWLCj tviUS. COMP. ZOOL OCCASIONAL PAPERS of the 0CT b Wb MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY The University of Kansa^ NlvERSI Lawrence, Kansas NUMBER 38, PAGES 1-46 SEPTEMBER 10, 1975 A REVIEW OF THE BROAD-HEADED ELEUTHERODACTYLINE FROGS OF SOUTH AMERICA (LEPTODACTYLIDAE) Bv John D. Lynch 1 Introduction Most eleutherodactyline frogs are relatively small and non-descript ( at least in preservative ) . However, several species found in forested habitats in northwestern South America and Central America are distinctive in having large, broad heads (head width 45-63 percent of snout-vent length ) , prominent cranial crests, and in being comparatively large frogs (adult females 30-100 mm SVL). The superficial resemblance of these frogs to Ceratophrys has been cited (Dunn, 1944; Rivero, 1961). Most other eleutherodactyline frogs have "narrow" heads (HW/SVL = 30-43%), lack cranial crests, and do not exceed snout-vent lengths of 50 mm. Certain species match the character states of the broad-headed eleutherodactylines for one characteristic but not for all. For example, Eleutlierodac-tylus anomalus is more broad-headed than most species (HW/SVL = 41.8-48.3), large (adult females are larger than 50 mm SVL), but lacks cranial crests; E. curtipes and E. galdii have prominent cranial crests but are smaller frogs (adult females less than 40 mm SVL) with "narrow" heads; in some populations, E. fttzingeri is a large frog (adult females 60-75 mm SVL), but all populations have nar-row heads and lack cranial crests. The broad-headed eleutherodactylines include the type species of the genera Amblyphrynus Cochran and Goin, Ctenocranius Melin, 1 Associate Professor of Zoology, School of Life Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska 68508; Research Associate in Herpetology, Museum of Natural History, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045.
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