They are endemic to New Guinea and the adjacent Louisiade Archipelago.

[1] Barygenys have squat body, narrow head, and tiny eyes.

[3] Barygenys are unique among asterophryine frogs in that they bear vertical ridges (or traces thereof) on the snout, and in having short, sharply tapering fingers with narrowly rounded tips.

[2] The largest species (Barygenys resima) reaches a body size around 45 mm (1.8 in) in snout–vent length, while Barygenys parvula is not known to exceed 20 mm (0.79 in) SVL.

They tend to have spotty distributions and are rarely collected, and consequently poorly known.