[1] Until recently, this family was believed to include the genera Sechellophryne, Nesomantis and Sooglossus, but following a major revision of amphibians in 2006,[2] the genus Nesomantis was named a junior synonym of Sooglossus.

[4] All Sooglossidae species are relatively small terrestrial frogs, about 4 cm (1.6 in) in length, hiding under fallen leaves or in rock crevices.

[5] The tadpoles of S. sechellensis are carried, abnormally, on the backs of the female frogs until metamorphosis.

They diverged from the Nasikabatrachidae when the Seychelles Islands split from India during the Late Cretaceous.

Their phylogenetic attributes are not fully understood but karyotypic studies demonstrate possible lineages from Madagascar due to pelobatid-leptodactyloid resemblances.