DNA barcode research has revealed a significant taxonomic gap in this subfamily, and an estimated 70+ candidate species were identified.

[6] Most cophylines have very simple advertisement calls, consisting of single melodious notes that are repeated after regular intervals and for long periods of time, usually lasting several minutes.

It is not however clear which subfamily is most closely related to Cophylinae+Scaphiophryninae, in part because the topology of deep nodes of the microhylid evolutionary tree is not satisfactorily resolved and remains unstable.

[11] The subfamily Cophylinae has its centre of diversity in the rainforests of northern Madagascar,[13][14] and today only few species are known from more arid areas in the drier west of the island.

The Cophylinae are highly ecologically labile over evolutionary time: in several instances, phylogenetic relationships based on DNA sequence data clearly indicate repeated transitions from e.g. terrestrial to arboreal habits and back.