Elachistocleis ovalis (Schneider, 1799)

Open encyclopedia reference

Elachistocleis ovalis, commonly known as the common oval frog, is a dubious species of frog in the family Microhylidae. The type species of Elachistocleis, it was described without a holotype or type locality, and due to this it is not known exactly to which population the name Elachistocleis ovalis applies, making it a nomen nudum. The Amphibian Species of the World restricts this species to Panama, Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Bolivia. Frog species from Brazil have been allocated to other species. A 2021 study found all populations assigned to E. ovalis across South America to represent several different undescribed species, likely indicating that the name E. ovalis is invalid without knowledge of the original population.

Populations assigned to Elachistocleis ovalis live in leaf litter and in tree holes in tropical rainforests and on the forest edges, grasslands, and shrublands. They breed in ponds where eggs and larvae develop.

Wikipedia contributors, Elachistocleis ovalis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T16:02:20.750243+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Elachistocleis ovalis (Schneider, 1799)

Name authority

(Schneider, 1799)

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Amphibia

Order

Anura

Family

Microhylidae

Genus

Elachistocleis

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classAmphibia
9. orderAnura
10. familyMicrohylidae Günther, 1858
11. subfamilyGastrophryninae Fitzinger, 1843
12. genusElachistocleis Parker, 1927
13. speciesElachistocleis ovalis (Schneider, 1799)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Elachistocleis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 516 records assigned to Microhylidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=664552 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:38X3F. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.