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Mesobatrachia
The Mesobatrachia (Ancient Greek ''μέσος'' (mésos, "middle") + ''batrachia'' ("frogs")) is a paraphyletic group of relatively primitive frogs. At the end of 2016, it contained 3 superfamilies (Pelobatoidea, Pelobatoidea#Pelodytoidea, Pelodytoidea and Pipoidea), 6 families, 16 genera, and 244 species. Recognized as a group in 1993, the name is contrasted with the primitive Archaeobatrachia and the more diverse and advanced Neobatrachia. The Mesobatrachia comprise five fossorial families, including the spadefoot toads of Europe, North America, and East Asia, the parsley frogs, and the Mexican burrowing toad, as well as one obligatorily aquatic family, the Pipidae of Africa and South America. Later studies recognised that the group was paraphyletic with respect to Neobatrachia. The families currently accepted in the Mesobatrachia suborder are: * Megophryidae * Pelobatidae * Pelodytidae * Pipidae * Rhinophrynidae * Scaphiopodidae References * * Mesobatrachia, Frogs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pelobatoidea
The Pelobatoidea are a superfamily of frogs. They typically combine a toad-like body shape with a frog-like, pointed face (hence the German name 'Krötenfrösche', literally 'toad frogs'). Phylogenetically they stand between Archaeobatrachia, primitive frogs (Bombinatoridae, fire-bellied toads, Alytes, midwife toads) on the one side and Neobatrachia, higher frogs (the Bufonidae, family of true toads, Hylidae, tree frogs, and the Ranidae, family of true frogs) on the other and are therefore – among other things by characteristics of bone construction – in the suborder Mesobatrachia. Per 2016, the Pelobatoidea contain 202 species in 11 genera and 2 families. The distribution covers Europe, North Africa and West Asia (Family Pelobatidae) and Southeast Asia (family Megophryidae). Their sister group are the Pelodytoidea, consisting of Scaphiopodidae, North American spadefood toads and Pelodytidae, parsley frogs. A striking characteristic is the vertically slit pupil in daylight. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frogs By Classification
A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough skin texture due to wart-like parotoid glands tend to be called toads, but the distinction between frogs and toads is informal and purely cosmetic, not from taxonomy or evolutionary history. Frogs are widely distributed, ranging from the tropics to subarctic regions, but the greatest concentration of species diversity is in tropical rainforest and associated wetlands. They account for around 88% of extant amphibian species, and are one of the five most diverse vertebrate orders. The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is known from the Early Triassic of Madagascar (250million years ago), but molecular clock dating suggests their divergence from other amphibians may extend further back to the Permian, 265million years ago. Adult frogs have a stou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neobatrachia
The Neobatrachia (Neo-Latin ''neo-'' ("new") + ''batrachia'' ("frogs")) are a suborder of the Frog, Anura, the order (biology), order of frogs and toads. This suborder is the most advanced and apomorphic of the three anuran suborders alive today, hence its name, which literally means "new frogs" (from the hellenic languages, hellenic words ''neo'', meaning "new" and ''batrachia'', meaning "frogs"). It is also by far the largest of the three; its more than 5,000 different species make up over 96% of all living anurans. The differentiation between Archaeobatrachia, Mesobatrachia, and Neobatrachia is based primarily on anatomic differences, especially the skeletal structure, as well as several visible characteristics and behaviors. Systematics Separating the Frog, Anura into the Archaeo-, Meso- and Neobatrachia is somewhat controversial; as more research is done and more knowledge is gained, it is becoming even less clear, because many characteristics used for this differentiati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pipidae
The Pipidae are a family (biology), family of primitive, tongueless frogs. There are 41 species in the family, found in tropical South America (genus ''Pipa'') and sub-Saharan Africa (the three other genera). Description Pipid frogs are highly aquatic and have numerous morphological modifications befitting their habitat. For example, the feet are completely webbed, the body is flattened, and a lateral line system is present in adults. In addition, pipids possess highly modified ears for producing and receiving sound under water. They lack a tongue or vocal cords, instead having bony rods in the larynx that help produce sound. They range from in body length. Taxonomy Morphological data suggest that ''Xenopus'' is the sister-group of all other pipids, whereas molecular data consistently suggest that ''Pipa (frog), Pipa'' is the sister-group of other pipids. Family Pipidae * ''Hymenochirus'' - dwarf clawed frogs (4 species) * ''Pipa (frog), Pipa'' - Surinam toads (7 species ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paraphyletic
Paraphyly is a taxonomic term describing a grouping that consists of the grouping's last common ancestor and some but not all of its descendant lineages. The grouping is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In contrast, a monophyletic grouping (a clade) includes a common ancestor and ''all'' of its descendants. The terms are commonly used in phylogenetics (a subfield of biology) and in the tree model of historical linguistics. Paraphyletic groups are identified by a combination of synapomorphies and symplesiomorphies. If many subgroups are missing from the named group, it is said to be polyparaphyletic. The term received currency during the debates of the 1960s and 1970s accompanying the rise of cladistics, having been coined by zoologist Willi Hennig to apply to well-known taxa like Reptilia (reptiles), which is paraphyletic with respect to birds. Reptilia contains the last common ancestor of reptiles and all descendants of that ancestor exc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fossorial
A fossorial animal () is one that is adapted to digging and which lives primarily (but not solely) underground. Examples of fossorial vertebrates are Mole (animal), moles, badgers, naked mole-rats, meerkats, armadillos, wombats, and mole salamanders. Among invertebrates, many molluscs (e.g., clams), insects (e.g., beetles, wasps, bees), and arachnids (e.g. spiders) are fossorial. Prehistoric evidence The physical adaptation of fossoriality is widely accepted as being widespread among many Prehistory, prehistoric Phylum, phyla and Taxon, taxa, such as bacteria and early eukaryotes. Furthermore, fossoriality has evolved independently multiple times, even within a single Family (biology), family. Fossorial animals appeared simultaneously with the colonization of land by arthropods in the late Ordovician period (over 440 million years ago). Other notable early burrowers include ''Eocaecilia'' and possibly ''Dinilysia''. The oldest example of burrowing in synapsids, the lineag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archaeobatrachia
Archaeobatrachia (Neo-Latin ''archaeo-'' ("old") + ''batrachia'' ("frog")) is a suborder of the order Anura containing various primitive frogs and toads. As the name suggests, these are the most primitive frogs. Many of the species (28 in total) show certain physiological characteristics which are not present in other frogs and toads, thus giving rise to this group. They are largely found in Eurasia, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Borneo, and are characteristically small. In addition, the family Ascaphidae is found in the Pacific Northwest and northern Rocky Mountains of the United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ..., and is only represented by two species. The taxon is considered paraphyletic. References * * * * . Amphibian suborders Paraphylet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pipoidea
Pipoidea are a clade of frogs, that contains the most recent common ancestor of living Pipidae and Rhinophrynidae as well as all its descendants. It is broadly equivalent to Xenoanura. Description The synapomorphies that define Pipoidea are the absence of mentomeckelian bones, absence of lateral alae of the parasphenoid, fusion of the frontoparietals into an azygous element, greatly enlarged otic capsules, and a tadpole with paired spiracles and which lacks beaks and denticles. Later genetic work has supported Pipoidea as a monophyletic group. Taxonomy In 1993 Pipoidea was defined by Ford and Cannatella as a node-based taxon. It has variously been defined as a suborder (original definition), superfamily, or an unranked clade. There is no single, authoritative higher-level classification of frogs, and Vitt and Caldwell (2014) use name Xenoanura for a similar clade, skipping Pipoidea altogether, as did Frost ''et al.'' (2006). The oldest record of the group is '' Rhadin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Late Jurassic
The Late Jurassic is the third Epoch (geology), epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time scale, geologic time from 161.5 ± 1.0 to 143.1 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic stratum, strata.Owen 1987. In European lithostratigraphy, the name "Malm" indicates rocks of Late Jurassic age. In the past, ''Malm'' was also used to indicate the unit of geological time, but this usage is now discouraged to make a clear distinction between lithostratigraphic and geochronologic/chronostratigraphic units. Subdivisions The Late Jurassic is divided into three ages, which correspond with the three (faunal) stages of Upper Jurassic rock: Paleogeography During the Late Jurassic Epoch, Pangaea broke up into two supercontinents, Laurasia to the north, and Gondwana to the south. The result of this break-up was the emergence of the Atlantic Ocean, which initially was relatively narrow. Life forms This epoch is well known for many famous types of d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhinophrynus Dorsalis
The Mexican burrowing toad (''Rhinophrynus dorsalis'') is the single living representative of the family Rhinophrynidae. It is a unique species in its taxonomy and morphology, with special adaptations to assist them in digging burrows where they spend most of their time. These adaptations include a small pointed snout and face, keratinized structures and a lack of webbing on front limbs, and specialized tongue morphology to assist in feeding on ants and termites underground. The body is nearly equal in width and length. It is a dark brown to black color with a red-orange stripe on its back along with splotches of color on its body. The generic name ''Rhinophrynus'' means 'nose-toad', from ''rhino-'' (), the combining form of the Ancient Greek ' (, 'nose') and ' (, 'toad'). The Mexican burrowing toad diverged from other amphibians over 190 million years ago and has been evolving independently for a longer period of time than the evolutionary differences between mammals like humans, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palaeobatrachidae
Palaeobatrachidae is an extinct family of frogs known from the Late Cretaceous to the Pleistocene primarily of Europe. They were highly adapted to aquatic life, like other members of the Pipimorpha. The oldest undoubted records of the family are from the lower Campanian (83.6–77.9 million years ago) of France. By far the most abundant genus is '' Palaeobatrachus'', known from the Eocene to Pleistocene of Europe, with most other named genera in the family synonymised with it, the only exception being '' Albionbatrachus,'' which is distinguished from ''Palaeobatrachus'' by characters of its frontoparietals. The youngest fossils of ''Palaeobatrachus'' date to around 500,000 years ago, during the Middle Pleistocene after which they likely became extinct due to increasing aridity and freezing temperatures during the ice ages. Fossils of indeterminate palaeobatrachids are also known from the Pliocene and Early Pleistocene of Western Siberia Western Siberia or West Siberia ( rus, З ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
