Metaphrynella is a small genus of microhylid frogs from the southern Malay Peninsula and Borneo. They are sometimes known as the Borneo treefrogs or tree hole frogs. The common name refers to the microhabitat of these frogs: males call from tree holes and tadpoles develop in the water contained in those holes.
Description Metaphrynella are small, arboreal frogs that have plump bodies and adhesive finger and toe tips.
Taxonomy Metaphrynella may be paraphyletic, as molecular dataDe Sá, R. O., Streicher, J. W., Sekonyela, R., Forlani, M. C., Loader, S. P., Greenbaum, E., … Haddad, C. F. B. (2012). Molecular phylogeny of microhylid frogs (Anura: Microhylidae) with emphasis on relationships among New World genera. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 12, 241. http://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-12-241 suggest that Phrynella is phylogenetically imbedded within it. Another study suggests that its closest relatives are Kaloula, Uperodon, and Ramanella. A molecular phylogenetic study by De Sá et al. (2012) shows Kaloula to be a sister clade of Metaphrynella.
Species There are two species: Binomial name and authorCommon name Metaphrynella pollicaris Malaysian treefrog Metaphrynella sundana Borneo treefrog
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