The tailed frogs are two species of frog. The "tail" in the name is actually an extension of the male cloaca. Ascaphus is the only genus in the family Ascaphidae. Until 2001, the genus was believed to be monotypic, the single species being the Tailed Frog (Ascaphus truei Stejneger, 1899). However in that year Nielson, Lohman, and Sullivan published evidence in Evolution that promoted the Rocky Mountain Tailed Frog (Ascaphus montanus) from a subspecies to its own species. Since then, the former species has been formally calle ... read more
