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Odontobatrachus
''Odontobatrachus'' is a genus of frogs comprising the family Odontobatrachidae. In a 2014 research project Barej, Rödel, Loader & Schmitz separated the genus from the established genus ''Petropedetes'' and separated the new family from the established family Petropedetidae. Taxonomy and affinities The species had originally been assigned to the genus ''Petropedetes'' in the Petropedetidae, a family of so-called torrent frogs of Africa, so the type species is ''Petropedetes natator'' Boulenger, 1905. However, recent morphological and genomic investigation showed the species not only to be cladistically alien to the Petropedetidae, but to all other existing anuran families as well. Furthermore, the family Odontobatrachidae turned out to be fairly ancient, estimated to have originated in the mid-Cretaceous period, some 80 Ma – 90 Ma ago. Consequently, a new family and genus were assigned, respectively Odontobatrachidae and ''Odontobatrachus''. The details of the evolutionary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Odontobatrachus Natator
''Odontobatrachus natator'', also known as the saber-toothed frog, Sierra Leone water frog, common toothed frog, or simply swimmer, is a species of frog in the family Odontobatrachidae. It is endemic to West Africa and occurs in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Earlier records from Ivory Coast refer to ''Odontobatrachus arndti''. ''Odontobatrachus natator'' occurs in forested, hilly areas in or near water, breeding in fast-flowing streams. The eggs are laid on land. The tadpole adhere themselves to rocks in waterfalls and rapids by means of suckers. It is patchily distributed but can locally be very abundant. It is probably threatened by the loss of forest habitat caused by agricultural development, logging, and expanding human settlements, and locally also by mining activities. It is present in a few protected areas. References amphibians described in 1905 amphibians of West Africa fauna of Guinea fauna of Liberia fauna of Sierra Leone natator The Australian fla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torrent Frog
Torrent frogs are a number of unrelated frogs that prefer to inhabit small rapid-flowing mountain or hill streams with a lot of torrents. They are generally smallish neobatrachians with a greyish-brown and usually darkly mottled back, giving them excellent camouflage among wet rocks overgrown with algae; their well-developed feet make them agile climbers of slippery rocks. Torrent frogs belong to the following taxa: * The "torrent frogs" of Asia are certain species in various ranoid genera: ''Amolops'', ''Huia'', '' Odorrana'' (all Ranidae), '' Micrixalus'', ( Micrixalidae) and ''Nanorana'' (Dicroglossidae). * The "torrent frogs" of Africa are the genera ''Arthroleptides'', ''Petropedetes'' (both family Petropedetidae) and '' Odontobatrachus'' ( Odontobatrachidae), which are found in eastern Africa, central Africa and western Africa, respectively. * The "torrent frogs" of Australia are the genus ''Taudactylus'' of the Australian ground frog family (Myobatrachidae). * The torre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Petropedetes
''Petropedetes'' is a genus of frogs in the family Petropedetidae. In 2002, the genus absorbed all three species of the genus ''Arthroleptides'', but they were moved back in 2014. The informally assigned common name for frogs in this genus (and for frogs in certain other genera) is torrent frogs. The following species are recognised in the genus ''Petropedetes'': * '' Petropedetes cameronensis'' (Reichenow, 1874) * '' Petropedetes euskircheni'' (Barej et al., 2010) * '' Petropedetes johnstoni'' (Boulenger, 1888) * '' Petropedetes juliawurstnerae'' (Barej et al., 2010) * '' Petropedetes newtonii'' (Bocage, 1895) – Barej et al. (2010) considers ''P. darwinii'' occurring in Bioko Bioko (; historically Fernando Po; bvb, Ëtulá Ëria) is an island off the west coast of Africa and the northernmost part of Equatorial Guinea. Its population was 335,048 at the 2015 census and it covers an area of . The island is located of ... Island ( Equatorial Guinea) a synonym of ''P. johnst ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vocal Sac
The vocal sac is the flexible membrane of skin possessed by most male frogs and toads. The purpose of the vocal sac is usually as an amplification of their mating or advertisement call. The presence or development of the vocal sac is one way of externally determining the sex of a frog or toad in many species; taking frogs as an example; The vocal sac is open to the mouth cavity of the frog, with two slits on either side of the tongue. To call, the frog inflates its lungs and shuts its nose and mouth. Air is then expelled from the lungs, through the larynx, and into the vocal sac. The vibrations of the larynx emits a sound, which resonates on the elastic membrane of the vocal sac. The resonance causes the sound to be amplified and allows the call to carry further. Muscles within the body wall force the air back and forth between the lungs and vocal sac. Development The development of the vocal sac is different in most species, however they mostly follow the same process. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frogs Of Africa
The fauna of Africa, in its broader sense, is all the animals living in Africa and its surrounding seas and islands. The more characteristic African fauna is found in the Afrotropical realm. Lying almost entirely within the tropics, and equally to north and south of the equator creates favourable conditions for rich wildlife. Africa is home to many of the world's most famous fauna in human culture such as lions‚ rhinos‚ cheetahs‚ giraffes‚ antelope, hippos, leopards, zebras‚ and African elephants among many others. Origins and history of African fauna Whereas the earliest traces of life in fossil record of Africa date back to the earliest times, the formation of African fauna as we know it today, began with the splitting up of the Gondwana supercontinent in the mid-Mesozoic era. After that, four to six faunal assemblages, the so-called African Faunal Strata (AFSs) can be distinguished. The isolation of Africa was broken intermittently by discontinuous "filter routes" tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amphibian Genera
Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arboreal or freshwater aquatic ecosystems. Thus amphibians typically start out as larvae living in water, but some species have developed behavioural adaptations to bypass this. The young generally undergo metamorphosis from larva with gills to an adult air-breathing form with lungs. Amphibians use their skin as a secondary respiratory surface and some small terrestrial salamanders and frogs lack lungs and rely entirely on their skin. They are superficially similar to reptiles like lizards but, along with mammals and birds, reptiles are amniotes and do not require water bodies in which to breed. With their complex reproductive needs and permeable skins, amphibians are often ecological indicators; in recent decades there has been a dramatic d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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