Calyptocephalella gayi (Duméril & Bibron, 1841)

Open encyclopedia reference

Calyptocephalella is a genus of frogs in the family Calyptocephalellidae. It is represented by a single living species, Calyptocephalella gayi, commonly known as the helmeted water toad, Chilean helmeted bull frog, or wide-mouthed toad. Additionally, there are a few extinct species that are only known from Late Cretaceous and Paleogene fossil remains from Patagonia in South America and the Antarctic Peninsula (at times when it was warmer and wetter). The helmeted water toad living today is aquatic to semi-aquatic, and found in deep ponds and reservoirs in central Chile and possibly adjacent west-central Argentina.

This very large frog

typically weighs up to 0.5–1 kg (1.1–2.2 lb), but sometimes considerably more. It is the world's second largest frog after the goliath frog. It is threatened by capture for human consumption in other countries, habitat loss, pollution, introduced species and the disease chytridiomycosis. It is often kept in herpetoculture, mostly locally where it is farmed for food, but also sold as a pet in the country.

Wikipedia contributors, Calyptocephalella; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T15:37:45.371895+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Calyptocephalella gayi (Duméril & Bibron, 1841)

Name authority

(Duméril & Bibron, 1841)

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Amphibia

Order

Anura

Family

Calyptocephalellidae

Genus

Calyptocephalella

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. familyCalyptocephalellidae Reig, 1960
11. genusCalyptocephalella Strand, 1928
12. speciesCalyptocephalella gayi (Duméril & Bibron, 1841)

Close classified relatives

No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.

Browse 5 records assigned to Calyptocephalellidae.

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=207869 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

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:Q6SG. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.