Huia (genus)

Huia (genus)

This article is about a genus of frogs. For a genus of extinct plants, see Huia (plant).

Huia
Javan Torrent Frog, Huia masonii This species is a member of the Sumatran Torrent Frog group
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Amphibia
Subclass:	Lissamphibia
Order:	Anura
Suborder:	Neobatrachia
Superfamily:	Ranoidea
Family:	Ranidae
Genus:	Huia
Species
See text

Huia is a group of true frogs found in Southeast Asia. Many are commonly known as "torrent frogs" after their favorite habitat - small rapid-flowing mountain and hill streams -, but this name is used for many similar-looking frogs regardless of whether they are closely related. A seemingly less ambiguous name is huia frogs; however, the supposed genus seems actually to be a polyphyletic "wastebin taxon" and might contain only a fraction of the dozens of species placed here by some authors.

Several species of Amolops and Odorrana are highly convergent with Huia. O. absita for example is highly similar in habitus to the completely allopatric H. masonii. Though the latter might not be a member of Huia in the strictest sense, it is at least a very close relative.

In another incidence of convergent evolution yielding adaptation to habitat, the tadpoles of Amolops, Huia, Meristogenys as well as Rana sauteri have a raised and usually well-developed sucker on their belly. This is useful in keeping in place in rocky torrents, where these frogs grow up. But as Odorrana and Staurois from comparable habitat prove, this sucker is by no means a necessity and other means of adaptation to torrent habitat exist.