List of Anuran families

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.

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 primitive 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.

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) Tailed frog.gif
Bombinatoridae
Gray, 1825
2 Fire-belly toads European Fire-bellied Toad (Bombina bombina) Bombina bombina 1 (Marek Szczepanek).jpg
Discoglossidae
Günther, 1858
2 Painted frogs or Disc-Tongued frogs Iberian or Portuguese Painted Frog (Discoglossus galganoi) Discoglossus galganoi rechts.jpg
Leiopelmatidae
Mivart, 1869
1 New Zealand primitive frogs Hochstetters frog (Leiopelma hochstetteri) Hochstetters Frog on Moss.jpg
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) Megophrys.nasuta.7035.jpg
Pelobatidae
Bonaparte, 1850
1 European spadefoot toads Common Spadefoot (Pelobates fuscus) Pelobates fuscus 2 (Marek Szczepanek).jpg
Pelodytidae
Bonaparte, 1850
1 Parsley frogs Common Parsley Frog (Pelodytes punctatus) Pelodytes punctatus side.jpg
Pipidae
Gray, 1825
5 Tongueless frogs or clawed frogs African Dwarf Frog (Hymenochirus boettgeri) Amplexus of ADF.jpg
Rhinophrynidae
Günther, 1859
1 Mexican Burrowing Toad Mexican Burrowing Toad (Rhinophrynus dorsalis) Rhinophrynus dorsalis.jpg
Scaphiopodidae
Cope, 1865
2 American spadefoot toads Western Spadefoot Toad (Spea hammondii) Spea hammondii 1.jpg
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) Bufo bufo couple during migration(2005).jpg
Centrolenidae
Taylor, 1951
3 Glass frogs Bare-hearted Glass Frog (Hyalinobatrachium colymbiphyllum) Glass frog2.jpg
Dendrobatidae
Cope, 1865
9 Poison dart frogs Yellow-banded Poison Dart (Dendrobates leucomelas) Gelbgebänderter Baumsteiger Dendrobates leucomelas.jpg
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) Caerulea3 crop.jpg
Hyperoliidae
Laurent, 1943
20 Sedge frogs or bush frogs Big-eyed Tree Frog (Leptopelis vermiculatus) Leptopelis vermiculatus2.jpg
Leptodactylidae
Werner, 1896
49 Southern frogs or tropical frogs Cliff Chirping Frog (Eleutherodactylus marnockii) Eleutherodactylus marnockii2.jpg
Mantellidae
Laurent, 1946
5 - Golden Mantella (Mantella aurantiaca) Golden mantella.JPG
Microhylidae
Günther, 1858
69 Narrow-mouthed frogs Sheep Frog (Hypopachus variolosus) Hypopachus variolosus.jpg
Myobatrachidae
Schlegel In Gray, 1850
20 Australian ground frogs Great Barred Frog (Mixophyes fasciolatus) M fasciolatus.jpg
Ranidae
Rafinesque, 1814
52 True frogs American Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) North-American-bullfrog1.jpg
Rhacophoridae
Hoffman, 1932
9 Moss frogs Malabar Flying Frog (Rhacophorus malabaricus) Rhacophorus amplexus.jpg
Rhinodermatidae
Bonaparte, 1850
1 Darwin's frogs Darwin's Frog (Rhinoderma darwinii) Rhinoderma darwinii.jpg
Sooglossidae
Noble, 1931
2 Seychelles frogs Gardiner's Seychelles Frog (Sooglossus gardineri) -

References