True frog
True frogs | |
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Scientific classification Ranidae | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Amphibia |
Order: | Anura |
Suborder: | Neobatrachia |
Clade: | Ranoidea |
Family: | Ranidae
Rafinesque, 1814 |
Synonyms |
The true frogs, family Ranidae, have the widest distribution of any frog family.
They are abundant throughout most of the world, occurring on all continents except Antarctica.
The true frogs are present in North America, northern South America, Europe, Africa (including Madagascar), and Asia.
The Asian range extends across the East Indies to New Guinea and a single species (the Australian wood frog (Hylarana daemelii)) has spread into the far north of Australia.
Typically, true frogs are smooth and moist-skinned, with large, powerful legs and extensively webbed feet.
The true frogs vary greatly in size, ranging from small—such as the wood frog (Lithobates sylvatica)—to large.
Many of the true frogs are aquatic or live close to water.
Most species lay their eggs in the water and go through a tadpole stage.
However, as with most families of frogs, there is large variation of habitat within the family.
There are also arboreal species of true frogs, and the family includes some of the very few amphibians that can live in brackish water.
Systematics
The subdivisions of the Ranidae are still a matter of dispute, although most are coming to an agreement.
Several former subfamilies are now recognised as separate families (Petropedetidae, Cacosterninae, Mantellidae, and Dicroglossidae).
The genus Rana has now been split up and is much reduced in size.
While too little of the vast diversity of true frogs has been subject to recent studies to say something definite, as of mid-2008, studies are going on, and several lineages are recognizable.
- The genus Staurois is probably a very ancient offshoot of the main Raninae lineage.
- Amolops has been generally delimited as a monophyletic group.
- Odorrana and Rana plus some proposed minor genera (which probably ought to be included in the latter) form another group.
- A group including Clinotarsus, Huia in the strict sense and Meristogenys
- An ill-defined assemblage of Babina, Glandirana, Hylarana, Pulchrana, Sanguirana, and Sylvirana, as well as Hydrophylax and Pelophylax, which are probably not monophyletic. Some authorities have treated them as junior synonyms of the genus Hylarana.
Genera
Most of the subfamilies formerly included under Ranidae are now treated as separate families, leaving only Raninae remaining.
The following genera are recognised in the family Ranidae:
Incertae sedis
A number of taxa are placed in Ranidae incertae sedis, that is, their taxonomic status is too uncertain to allow more specific placement.
- "Hylarana" attigua (Inger, Orlov, and Darevsky, 1999)
- "Hylarana" celebensis (Peters, 1872)
- "Hylarana" chitwanensis (Das, 1998)
- "Hylarana" garoensis (Boulenger, 1920)
- "Hylarana" lateralis (Boulenger, 1887)
- "Hylarana" latouchii (Boulenger, 1899)
- "Hylarana" margariana Anderson, 1879
- "Hylarana" montivaga (Smith, 1921)
- "Hylarana" persimilis (Van Kampen, 1923)
Credits to the contents of this page go to the authors of the corresponding Wikipedia page: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True frog.