List of Anuran families

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Anura
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Rafinesque, 1815
Suborders
  • See text

This list of Anuran families shows all extant families of Anura. Anura is an order of animals in the class Amphibia that includes frogs and toads. There are around 5,280 species currently described in the order. The living Anurans are typically divided into three suborders: Archaeobatrachia, Mesobatrachia and Neobatrachia. This classification is based on such morphological features as the number of vertebrae, the structure of the pectoral girdle, and the morphology of tadpoles.

[edit] Taxonomy

As suggested by their names, the Archaeobatrachians are the most primitive of frogs. These frogs have morphological characteristics which are found mostly in extinct frogs, and are absent in most of the modern frog species. Most of these characteristics are not common between all the families of Archaeobatrachians, or are not absent from all the modern species of frog. However all Archarobatrachians have free vertebrae, whereas all other species of frog have their ribs fused to their vertebrae.

The Neobatrachians comprise the most modern species of frog. Most of these frogs have morphological features which are more complex than those of the Mesobatrachians and Archaeobatrachians. The Neobatrachians all have a palatine bone, which is a bone which braces the upper jaw to the neurocranium. This is absent in all Archaeobatrachians and some Mesobatrachians. The third distal carpus is fused with the remaining carpal bones. The adductor longus muscle is present in the Neobatrachians, but absent in the Archaeobatrachians and some Mesobatrachians. It is believed to have differentiated from pectineus muscle, and this differentiation has not occurred in the primitve frogs.

The Mesobatrachians are considered the evolutionary link between the Archaeobatrachians and the Neobatrachians. The families within the Mesobatrachian suborder generally contain morphological features typical of both the other suborders. For example, the palatine bone is absent in all Archaeobatrachians, and present in all Neobatrachians. However, within the Mesobatrachians families, it can be dependent on the species as to whether the palatine bone is present.

Due to the many morphological features which separate the frogs, there are many different systems for the classification of the Anuran suborders. These different classification systems usually split the Mesobatrachian suborder.

[edit] Families

Archaeobatrachia - 4 families, 6 genera, 27 species
Family Genera Common Names Example Species Example Photo
Ascaphidae
Fejérváry, 1923
1 Tailed frogs Tailed Frog (Ascaphus truei)
Bombinatoridae
Gray, 1825
2 Fire-belly toads European Fire-bellied Toad (Bombina bombina)
Discoglossidae
Günther, 1858
2 Painted frogs or Disc-Tongued frogs Iberian or Portuguese Painted Frog (Discoglossus galganoi)
Leiopelmatidae
Mivart, 1869
1 New Zealand primitive frogs Hochstetters frog (Leiopelma hochstetteri)
Mesobatrachia - 6 families, 21 genera, 168 species
Family Genera Common Names Example Species Example Photo
Megophryidae
Bonaparte, 1850
11 Litter frogs or short-legged toads Long-nosed Horned Frog (Megophrys nasuta)
Pelobatidae
Bonaparte, 1850
1 European spadefoot toads Common Spadefoot (Pelobates fuscus)
Pelodytidae
Bonaparte, 1850
1 Parsley frogs Common Parsley Frog (Pelodytes punctatus)
Pipidae
Gray, 1825
5 Tongueless frogs or clawed frogs African Dwarf Frog (Hymenochirus boettgeri)
Rhinophrynidae
Günther, 1859
1 Mexican Burrowing Toad Mexican Burrowing Toad (Rhinophrynus dorsalis)
Scaphiopodidae
Cope, 1865
2 American spadefoot toads Western Spadefoot Toad (Spea hammondii)
Neobatrachia - 21 families, more than 5,000 species
Family Genera Common Names Example Species Example Photo
Allophrynidae
Goin, Goin, and Zug, 1978
1 Tukeit Hill Frog Tukeit Hill Frog (Allophryne ruthveni) -
Amphignathodontidae
Boulenger, 1882
2 Marsupial Frogs Marsupial Frog (Gastrotheca spp.) -
Arthroleptidae
Mivart, 1869
8 Screeching frogs or squeakers Tanzanian Screeching Frog (Arthroleptis tanneri) -
Brachycephalidae
Günther, 1858
1 Saddleback toads Brazilian Gold Frog (Brachycephalus didactylus) -
Bufonidae
Gray, 1825
35 True toads Common Toad (Bufo bufo)
Centrolenidae
Taylor, 1951
3 Glass frogs Bare-hearted Glass Frog (Hyalinobatrachium colymbiphyllum)
Dendrobatidae
Cope, 1865
9 Poison dart frogs Yellow-banded Poison Dart (Dendrobates leucomelas)
Heleophrynidae
Noble, 1931
1 Ghost frogs Natal Ghost Frog (Heleophryne natalensis) -
Hemisotidae
Cope, 1867
1 Shovelnose frogs Mottled Shovelnose Frogs (Hemisus marmoratus) -
Hylidae
Rafinesque, 1815
42 Tree frogs White's Tree Frog (Litoria caerulea)
Hyperoliidae
Laurent, 1943
20 Sedge frogs or bush frogs Big-eyed Tree Frog (Leptopelis vermiculatus)
Leptodactylidae
Werner, 1896
49 Southern frogs or tropical frogs Cliff Chirping Frog (Eleutherodactylus marnockii)
Mantellidae
Laurent, 1946
5 - Golden Mantella (Mantella aurantiaca)
Microhylidae
Günther, 1858
69 Narrow-mouthed frogs Sheep Frog (Hypopachus variolosus)
Myobatrachidae
Schlegel In Gray, 1850
20 Australian ground frogs Great Barred Frog (Mixophyes fasciolatus)
Ranidae
Rafinesque, 1814
52 True frogs American Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana)
Rhacophoridae
Hoffman, 1932
9 Moss frogs Malabar Flying Frog (Rhacophorus malabaricus)
Rhinodermatidae
Bonaparte, 1850
1 Darwin's frogs Darwin's Frog (Rhinoderma darwinii)
Sooglossidae
Noble, 1931
2 Seychelles frogs Gardiner's Seychelles Frog (Sooglossus gardineri) -

[edit] References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
  • Myers, P.; R. Espinosa, C. S. Parr, T. Jones, G. S. Hammond, and T. A. Dewey (2006). Order Anura (frogs and toads). The Animal Diversity Web. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. Retrieved on 2006-05-13.
  • Frost, Darrel (2004). Anura Merrem, 1820. Amphibian Species of the World 3.0, an Online Reference. The American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved on 2006-05-13.
  • Duellman, William E.; Linda Trueb (1994). Biology of Amphibians. The Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-4780-X. 
  • Cannatella, David; Ford, Linda & Bockstanz, Lori (1995). Neobatrachia. Tree of Life Web Project. Retrieved on 2006-05-19.