Mesobatrachia

Mesobatrachia Temporal range: Late Jurassic to present
Rhinophrynus dorsalis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Amphibia
Subclass:	Lissamphibia
Superorder:	Batrachia
Order:	Anura
Suborder:	Mesobatrachia
Families
Megophryidae Pelobatidae Pelodytidae Pipidae Rhinophrynidae Scaphiopodidae

The Mesobatrachia are the second-largest of the Anura suborders of amphibians. It contains six families, 20 genera, and 168 species. Recognized as a group in 1993, the name (meso- "middle" batrachia "frogs") is contrasted with the primitive Archaeobatrachia and the more diverse and advanced Neobatrachia.

The Mesobatrachia comprise five fossorial families, including the spadefoot toads of Europe, North America, and East Asia, the parsley frogs, and the Mexican burrowing toad, as well as one obligatorily aquatic family, the Pipidae of Africa and South America.

The Mesobatrachia are a relatively new group, only having been identified as such in 1993.

References

• Gissi, Carmela; Diego San Mauro; Graziano Pesole; Rafael Zardoya (February 2006). "Mitochondrial phylogeny of Anura (Amphibia): A case study of congruent phylogenetic reconstruction using amino acid and nucleotide characters". Gene. 366 (2): 228–237. doi:10.1016/j.gene.2005.07.034. PMID 16307849.
• San Mauro, Diego; Miguel Vences; Marina Alcobendas; Rafael Zardoya; Axel Meyer (May 2005). "Initial diversification of living amphibians predated the breakup of Pangaea". American Naturalist. 165 (5): 590–599. doi:10.1086/429523. PMID 15795855.