Stumpffia

Stumpffia was first described from the single species Stumpffia psologlossa Boettger, 1881, based on a single specimen collected on Nosy Be, a large island off the northwest coast of Madagascar, by Anotonio Stumpff.[5] By 2017, 15 species were recognised. In late 2017, a major revision of the genus was published.[2] This study used integrative taxonomy, i.e. the combination of multiple different datasets, to delimit and describe new species: it combined morphological, morphometric, chromatic (color), bioacoustic (voice), and genetic data to provide new data on the 15 described species of Stumpffia, and describe a further 26 new species.[2]

The genus Stumpffia was proposed to be a junior synonym of Rhombophryne in 2016,[6] but this proposal was disputed and reversed by authors of a subsequent study, on the basis of their reciprocal monophyly and consistent morphological differences between the two genera that allow them to be distinguished.[7] The latter study established a new genus, Anilany for "Stumpffia" helenae, a species that would otherwise have rendered Stumpffia paraphyletic, and which is morphologically and genetically highly distinct from any species of Rhombophryne or Stumpffia.[7]

This debate was continued in 2017, with one group of authors continuing to advocate for synonymy of these two genera plus Anilany,[8] while the other group of authors continued to advocate for separate treatment of these genera based on their monophyly and morphological distinction allowing them to be distinguished with comparative ease.[9] There was a temporary impasse, wherein the Amphibian Species of the World database continued to adopt the single-genus taxonomy, and as a result, so too did the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species and other online databases (e.g. iNaturalist) that draw from that resource. Meanwhile, AmphibiaWeb continued to use the three-genus taxonomy, as did the taxonomists working on cophyline systematics,[2][10][11] and other groups working more broadly on frog evolution and taxonomy.[12][13]

In March 2019, a new genus, Mini, was described for the miniaturised frogs previously confused with Stumpffia that are more closely related to Plethodontohyla.[14] Evidence in this study, as well as that presented in a paper by Na Tu et al. in 2018,[13] helped to clarify the taxonomic situation, and the Amphibian Species of the World database reverted to treating Rhombophryne, Anilany, and Stumpffia as valid genera.[15]

There are over 40 currently recognised species:[1][2][16][17]

The taxon Stumpffia helenae'' Vallan, 2000 was transferred to Anilany[7] and therefore does not appear on this list.