Myobatrachoidea

Myobatrachoidea is a superfamily of frogs. It contains two families, both of which are found in Australia, New Guinea, and the Aru Islands. Some sources group these two families into a single family Myobatrachidae.^[1]

Myobatrachoidea
Limnodynastes interioris
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Anura
Clade:	Australobatrachia
Superfamily:	Myobatrachoidea Schlegel, 1850
Families
Limnodynastidae Myobatrachidae

Their closest relatives are thought to be the Calyptocephalellidae of southern South America, from which they diverged during the mid-Cretaceous (about 100 million years ago). Together, they comprise the clade Australobatrachia; their common ancestor is thought to have inhabited South America, with the ancestors of Myobatrachoidea dispersing to Australasia during the Cretaceous via (then ice-free) Antarctica.^[2] Both families within Myobatrachoidea are thought to have diverged from each other during the Late Cretaceous or during the earliest Paleocene (immediately after the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event).^[3]

Taxonomy

Myobatrachoidea contains the following families:^[1]

• Limnodynastidae Lynch, 1969 - 44 species
• Myobatrachidae Schlegel, 1850 - 91 species