The saddleback toads are a family (Brachycephalidae) in the order Anura. The family consist of just one genus, Brachycephalus, which consists of six species. These frogs are native to southeastern Brazil.

The saddleback toads are very small frogs, mostly around 1 centimetre in length, and include the smallest frog in the Southern Hemisphere, Izecksohn's Toad (Brachycephalus didactylus). They have only three toes on each foot, and two fingers on each hand. This is in contrast to the usual five toes and four fingers of most frogs.

The saddleback toads are diurnal, and habit leaf litter on forest floors. The eggs undergo direct development, in which they bypass the tadpole stage. The eggs are laid on the ground, and covered in soil to protect from the heat and predators. Their amplexus method is unusual, in that it begins with the inguinal amplexus, which involves the male holding the female around the waste, and then shifts to axillary amplexus, in which the male grips above the females arms. Most frogs species will only use one technique.

Scientific classification

• Izecksohn’s Toad, Brachycephalus didactylus (Izecksohn, 1971).
• Spix’s Saddleback Toad, Brachycephalus ephippium (Spix, 1824).
• Brachycephalus hermogenesi (Giaretta et Sawaya, 1998).
• Serra Cantareira Saddleback Toad, Brachycephalus nodoterga Miranda-Ribeiro, 1920.
• Brachycephalus pernix Pombal, Wistuba, et Bornschein, 1998.
• Brachycephalus vertebralis Pombal, 2001.

Frogs by classification | Saddleback toads

Sattelkröten | Brachycephalus | Zadelpadden | Brachycephalidae