Added 2 March 2004. Last updated January 2023: extensively updated genera.
The family Bufonidae contains 25 genera and 450 or so species. The following is a list of the genera and their general characteristics and distribution.
Please note that this list is an ongoing work and will probably take some time to complete. Links will be provided from genus names to a list of their species when such information is available.
In the 10 years or so since this page was first uploaded, there has been considerable change in the classification of the family, mainly with the genus Bufo being broken up into several more genera, although Bufo remains moderately large.
NB the latest extensive update (20/9/15) means that the Quick Index will need supplementing.
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QUICK INDEX |
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Ansonia , Torrent Toads |
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Bufo, True Toads |
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Pedostibes, Tree Toads |
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Genus |
Common Name |
No. of species |
Distribution |
Notes |
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Dwarf Toads |
3 |
Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Guiana, Surinam, French Guiana, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Trinidad, Ecuador, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Hispaniola, Virgin Islands |
Mainly South America (not Chile), also Caribbean |
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Ethiopian Toads |
2 |
Tanzania, Somalia and Ethiopian |
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Amazophrynella |
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12 |
Amazonian Basin |
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Anaxyrus |
North and Central American toads |
22 |
North America |
Contains the North American toads formerly assigned to Bufo. Still considered a subgenus of the latter by some authorities. |
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3 |
Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina |
Now reclassified as Rhaebo. |
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Torrent Toads, Stream Toads, Slender Toads |
21 |
India and SE Asia |
Parotoid glands absent. |
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1 |
Nigeria and Cameroon |
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Harlequin Toads |
75 |
S & C America |
This genus, considered almost as desirable by collectors for its coloration as the poison dart frogs, has been hit very hard by the chytrid fungus plague in recent years, with some species disappearing and others being taken into protective confinement. |
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Barbarophryne |
Brongersma's Toad |
1 |
Western Sahara, Morocco and Algeria |
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Blythophryne |
Andaman Toads |
1 |
Andaman Islands |
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True Toads |
37 |
Worldwide except for polar regions, although some authorities now appear to define it as mainly if not exclusively an Old World genus. |
Parotoid glands present; fingers free, discs absent. Distinctive as a genus but often hard to distinguish from one another at a species level. In the 21st century there have been some changes made to the genus, which formerly included over 200 species: many of these have now been assigned into new genera. There is still some argument over some details. |
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2 |
India |
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Bufotes |
Palearctic Green Toads, Eurasian Green Toads |
15 |
Europe, West and Central Asia, and North Africa |
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Cape Toads |
2 |
Republic of South Africa |
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Chaunus |
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These and Rhamphophryne species now considered part of Rhinella. |
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Churamiti |
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1 |
Tanzania |
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3 |
Costa Rica & Panama |
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Tree Toads |
16 |
N South America |
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Four-Digit Toad |
1 |
Kenya, Tanzania |
Compressed snout, well-developed pectoral shields. |
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Duttaphrynus |
Dutta's Toads |
27 |
Indian subcontinent, China & SE Asia |
Made of species formerly assigned to Bufo melanostictus group. |
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Epidalea |
Natterjack Toad |
1 |
Europe |
Formerly considered a Bufo species. |
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Frost's Toads |
2 |
Brazil |
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Incilius |
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33 |
The Americas |
Still considered a subgenus of Bufo by some authorities. |
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Ingerophrynus |
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12 |
China & SE Asia |
Mostly former Bufo species. |
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Parker's Tree Toad |
1 |
Tanzania |
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Indonesian Tree Toads |
2 |
SE Asia |
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? |
24-25 |
South America |
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Snouted Frogs |
14 |
E Africa |
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? |
1 |
Brazil |
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Nannophryne |
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4 |
South America |
Considered a subgenus of Bufo by some authorities. |
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African Tree Toads |
2 |
W Africa |
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13 |
Tanzania |
Ovoviviparous. |
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2 |
W Africa |
Viviparous. |
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Bush Toads |
8 |
South America |
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07/11/15 |
South America |
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Parapelophryne |
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1 |
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Tree Toads |
6 |
SE Asia |
Parotoid glands present; fingers webbed, discs present. |
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Flathead Toads |
9 |
SE Asia |
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Phrynoidis |
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2 |
SE Asia |
Considered a subgenus of Bufo by some authorities. |
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Poyntonophrynus |
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10 |
Sub-Saharan Africa |
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1 |
Malaysia, Borneo and Indonesia |
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Pseudepidalea |
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16 |
Europe, Africa & Asia |
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Rhaebo |
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13 |
Central and South America |
May alternatively be treated as a subgenus of Bufo. Includes former Andinophryne species. |
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10 |
Central & N South America |
These and Chaunus species now considered part of Rhinella. |
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Rhinella |
Beaked Toads |
71-72 |
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Considered a subgenus of Bufo by some authorities. |
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Sabahphrynus |
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1 |
Malaysia |
May also be considered an Ansonia species. |
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1 |
Africa |
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Osgood's Ethiopian Toad |
1 |
Ethiopia |
Now normally considered an Altiphrynoides species. |
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4 |
E Africa |
These species are now allocated to Mertensophryne instead. |
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2 |
Peru |
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Vandijkophrynus |
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5 |
Southern Africa? |
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Smalltongue Toads |
6 |
Central & West Africa |
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Wolterstorff Toads |
3 |
Nigeria and Cameroon |
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Amphibians and Reptiles of North Africa, W Kästle, H H Schleich and K Kabisch, Koeltz Scientific Books, Germany 1996. Outstanding review of N African herpetofauna giving detailed account of each species.
Keeping and Breeding Amphibians, Chris Mattison, Blandford Press,
The Proper Care of Amphibians, John Coborn, TFH, 1992. Although I have been often critical of Coborn's books in the past - some, notably on lizards, have contained erroneous information - this is not a bad one. It is very useful for an oversight of all the amphibian families and contains some information on many species which are rarely seen in captivity.
Frogs, Toads and Treefrogs, RD and Patricia P Bartlett, Barron's Educational Series, 1996. This is a good book for details on the captive husbandry of the most common anurans you are likely to see offered in the pet trade.
Urania Tierreich: Fische, Lurche, Kriechtiere (various authors, but edited I believe by Professor Kurt Deckert: amphibian contributor was Dr Günther Freytag), Urania-Verlagsgesellschaft, Leipzig. Part of a 6-volume encyclopedia set on the animal kingdom and perhaps comparable to Grzimek's volumes, this volume provides a very useful overview of all the genera and many representative species.
Herpetology of China, Er-mi Zhao and Kraig Adler, SSAR, 1993. Catalogue of practically every reptile and amphibian species found in mainland China, Hongkong, Macao, Tibet and Taiwan. There are few details of the ecology of the animals, but readers are referred to a very comprehensive bibliography, and colour plates are provided for many of the creatures listed.
The Book of Indian Reptiles and Amphibians, J C Daniel, Bombay Natural History Society/Oxford University Press, 2002.
Wikipedia article “True Toad”, retrieved 20 September 2015.
Animal Diversity Web, “Bufonidae”, retrieved 20 September 2015.
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