Plectrohyla Brocchi, 1877

Plectrohyla Brocchi, 1877:92 . Type species: Plectrohyla guatemalensis Brocchi, 1877, by original designation.

Definition. Moderate to large frogs having thick, glandular skin and enlarged prepollex with a projecting spine (Figs. 5 C and D), and the alary process of the premaxilla bifurcate posteriorly.

Content. Eighteen species: Plectrohyla acanthodes * Duellman and Campbell, avia * Stuart, chrysopleura Wilson, McCranie, and Cruz-Diaz, dasypus* McCranie and Wilson, exquisita* McCranie and Wilson, glandulosa (Boulenger), guatemalensis Brocchi, hartwegi* Duellman, ixil* Stuart, lacertosa* Bumzahem and Smith, matudai Hartweg, pokomchi* Duellman and Campbell, psiloderma* McCranie and Wilson, pycnochila* Rabb, quecchi* Stuart, sagorum* Hartweg, tecunumani* Duellman and Campbell, and teuchestes * Duellman and Campbell.

Distribution. Northern Central American highlands from Chiapas, Mexico, eastward through Guatemala and northern El Salvador to central and northern Honduras.

Etymology. The generic name is derived from the Greek plektron meaning spur and Hylas of Greek mythology. The name refers to the prepollical spines characteristic of members of the genus.

Remarks. Molecular data are available for only four of the 18 species.