Pleurodema

{{Short description|Genus of amphibians}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| image = Pleurodema brachyops.jpg

| image_caption = Pleurodema brachyops

| taxon = Pleurodema

| authority = Tschudi, 1838

| type_species = Pleurodema bibroni

| type_species_authority = Tschudi, 1838

| subdivision_ranks = Species

| subdivision = 15, see the text.

}}

Pleurodema is a genus of frogs in the family Leptodactylidae. The genus is endemic to South America. Species in the genus Pleurodema are sometimes known under the common name four-eyed frogs,{{cite web |url=http://research.amnh.org/vz/herpetology/amphibia/Amphibia/Anura/Leptodactylidae/Leiuperinae/Pleurodema |title=Pleurodema Tschudi, 1838 |author=Frost, Darrel R. |author-link=Darrel Frost |year=2014 |work=Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0 |publisher=American Museum of Natural History |access-date=3 June 2014}} although this common name can also refer to a particular species, Pleurodema bibroni. The common name is a reference to two inguinal poison glands that resemble eyes.{{cite web | url=http://www.conservacionpatagonica.org/blog/2012/11/16/species-profile-four-eyed-frog/ | title=Species profile: four-eyed frog | publisher=Conservacion Patagonic | date=2012-11-16 | access-date=9 January 2014}} When threatened, the frog lowers its head and raises its rear. When the frog adopts this posture, the poison glands are also raised toward the predator. The predator may also confuse the frog's raised posterior for the head of a larger animal.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CzxVvKmrtIgC |title=Biology of Amphibians |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |author=Duellman, William E. |author-link=species:William Edward Duellman |year=1994 |location=Baltimore |pages=670 |isbn=9780801847806}}