Ranoidea

The Ranoidea are a superfamily of frogs in the order Anura. Members of this superfamily are characterised by having the pectoral girdle fused into a single complex unit, having no ribs, and using an axillary grip during amplexus. The larvae have a single spiracle on the left side and complex mouthparts, or in some species, undergo direct development.[3] The taxonomy of these families has been under heavy debate for many years. In recent studies, molecular data has been used to better identify the phylogentic relationships of these frogs, rearanging and introducing new subfamilies to better distinguish between large groups of frogs (Glaw,Vences, 2001).

This article is about the superfamily of frogs. For a genus of frogs, see Ranoidea (genus).

Ranoidea
Temporal range: Cretaceous–recent, 89.3–0 Ma[1]
Common frog, Rana temporaria
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Suborder: Neobatrachia
Clade: Ranoidea
Families [2]

This superfamily contains seventeen different families, each containing at least 2 species (some contain over 300 different species).[4][5] (See figure 1).

Families

The family described in this section are based on Vitt & Caldwell (2014)[4] and van der Meijden (2006).[5]

Ranixalidae

The family of Ranixalidae (Leaping Frogs) has one genus containing 10 different species. They can be found in central and southern India. They typically reside in leaf litter and in tropical deciduous forests, near streams and can be found between 200 m and 1100 m in altitude.

Mantellidae

The family of Mantellidae (Malagasy Poison Frogs) has 3 different genera with 191 species total. They can be found in Madagascar and Mayotte Island. They are both terrestrial and arboreal frogs and can be found between 800 and 1000 m in altitude.

Rhacophoridae

The family of Rhacophoridae (Afroasian Tree Frogs) has two subfamilies, 14 genera, and a total of 321 species. They are found in Sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, and South Asia. They are mainly tree frogs. They have intercalary cartilage[6] between their last two phalanges.

The phylogenetic tree of Ranoidea and other anurans.[5]

Pyxicephalidae

The family of Pyxicephalidae (African Bullfrogs) has two subfamilies, 13 genera, and 68 total species. They are also found in Sub-Saharan Africa. The two subfamilies are completely different in that cacosternines are small and slender typically terrestrial or semiaquatic, whereas pyxicephalines are large bullfrog like frogs that have stocky bodies, with fang like projections on their lower jaw, used to smash their prey.

Petropedetidae

The family of Petropedetidae (African Water Frogs and Goliath Frog) has two genera with a total of 18 different species. They are found in Sub-Saharan Africa. This family contains the world's largest frog, Conraua goliath.

Ptychadenidae

The family of Ptychadenidae (Grassland Frogs) has 3 genera with a total of 53 different species. They are found in sub-Saharan Africa. They reside in grasslands and savannas. They tend to have slender bodies with long limbs.

Ceratobatrachidae

The family of Ceratobatrachidae (Triangle Frogs) has 5 genera with a total of 84 different species. They can be found in Malaysia, Philippines, Borneo, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. Most have very angular bodies and are small to moderate in size. They live in the forests.

Brevicipitidae

The family of Brevicipitidae (Rain frogs) has 5 genera with 31 total species. They can be found in Sub-Saharan African in the south east corner. They are typically small with spherical shaped bodies, which become even more round when they are disturbed because they inflate themselves as a mode of defense.

References
  1. "Superfamily Ranoidea Rafinesque 1814 (frog)". Paleobiology Database. Fossilworks. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  2. Cannatella, David; Ford, Linda; Bockstanz, Lori (1995). "Neobatrachia". Tree of Life Web Project. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  3. Duellman, William E.; Zug, George R. "Anura: Critical appraisal". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  4. Vitt, Laurie J. & Caldwell, Janalee P. (2014). Herpetology: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles (4th ed.). Academic Press. ISBN 9780123869197. OCLC 839312807.
  5. van der Meijden, Arie (1 January 2006). "Molecular phylogeny and biogeography of ranoid frogs". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. Ducey, Peter, Dr. (n.d.). Cramer, Craig (ed.). "Glossary". Biology SUNY Cortland. Cortland Herpetology Connection. Cortland, NY: State University of New York.
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