Although L. didymus and L. mystaceus have been considered as sibling species (Heyer et al. 1996), molecular work demonstrated that they do not show sister-taxa relationships (De Sá et al. 2005). Leptodactylus elenae is a wide-ranging species inhabiting semi-arid habitats in the Chaco, cerrado, caatinga, and dry forest regions from the eastern slope of Bolivia to Mato Grosso, in Brazil, and southern Paraguay to north-central Argentina (Heyer & Heyer 2002).