''Odorrana'', commonly known as odorous frogs, is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

true frog True frogs is the common name for the frog family (biology), family Ranidae. They have the widest distribution of any frog family. They are abundant throughout most of the world, occurring on all continents except Antarctica. The true frogs are p ...

s (Ranidae) from

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

and surrounding regions. Many of these frogs inhabit fast-flowing mountain streams, and they typically have a remarkably pointed snout, as evidenced by common names like tip-nosed frog and

scientific name In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

s like ''nasica'' or ''nasutus'' ("with a

nose A nose is a sensory organ and respiratory structure in vertebrates. It consists of a nasal cavity inside the head, and an external nose on the face. The external nose houses the nostrils, or nares, a pair of tubes providing airflow through the ...

").

Systematics and taxonomy

''Odorrana'' has a confusing

taxonomic 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme of classes (a taxonomy) and the allocation ...

and

systematic Systematic may refer to: Science * Short for systematic error * Systematic fault * Systematic bias, errors that are introduced by an inaccuracy inherent to the system Economy * Systematic trading, a way of defining trade goals, risk control ...

history. Most species placed here were initially placed in ''

Rana Rana may refer to: Astronomy * Rana (crater), a crater on Mars * Delta Eridani or Rana, a star Films * Rana (2012 film), an Indian Kannada-language action drama * Rana, a 1998 Telugu-language action film directed by A. Kodandarami Reddy * R ...

''. Some were considered to belong in '' Amolops'' and '' Huia'' instead, and yet again others were separated as ''Eburana''. The most extreme proposal was to merge ''Odorrana'' into ''Huia''.Cai ''et al.'' (2007), Stuart (2008) In the early 21st century,

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

studies established that the systematic confusion was due to widespread

convergent evolution Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last comm ...

between ''Amolops'', ''Huia'' and ''Odorrana'', which actually represent quite distinct lineages of

Raninae True frogs is the common name for the frog family Ranidae. They have the widest distribution of any frog family. They are abundant throughout most of the world, occurring on all continents except Antarctica. The true frogs are present in North Am ...

. This necessitated some taxonomic changes, especially affecting ''Huia''. It was also found that ''Odorrana'' is a rather close relative of ''Rana'' (which includes '' Lithobates'' nowadays) – possibly the most closely related living lineage. And while it is not completely certain that ''Odorrana'' is in fact a distinct genus, the available evidence points towards this being so. Initial studies have revealed what seems to be several

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

s of ''Odorrana'', which are sometimes considered

subgenera In biology, a subgenus ( subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the ge ...

. But few species have had their

DNA sequence A nucleic acid sequence is a succession of bases within the nucleotides forming alleles within a DNA (using GACT) or RNA (GACU) molecule. This succession is denoted by a series of a set of five different letters that indicate the order of the nu ...

data sampled, and that the convergent evolution is liable to obscure relationships if assessed by

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

alone: * A number of very basal species, including '' O. bacboensis'', '' O. chapaensis'',

Ishikawa's Frog Ishikawa's frog (''Odorrana ishikawae'') is a species of frog in the family Ranidae. It is endemic to Okinawa Island, one of the Ryukyu Islands of Japan. It has been described as the most beautiful frog in Japan. Its natural habitats are temper ...

(''O. ishikawae'') and perhaps others do not seem to be particularly close to any of the larger groups or each other. * A very robustly-supported clade containing the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

'' O. margaretae'' as well as at least '' O. andersonii'', '' O. daorum'' '' O. grahami'' and '' O. hmongorum''. * A minor but quite distinct lineage containing '' O. absita'', '' O. khalam'' and perhaps others. Namely '' O. hejiangensis'' and '' O. schmackeri'' might belong here, or represent another minor and distinct lineage. * A large group, quite likely a clade, containing the Amami Tip-nosed Frog (''O. amamiensis''), '' O. banaorum'', '' O. chloronota'',

Hose's Frog __NOTOC__ Hose's frog (''Odorrana hosii'', often misspelled as ''O. hosei'') is a true frog species with a wide range in Southeast Asia. This species was named after zoologist Charles Hose. Its closest living relatives appear to be ''Odorrana chl ...

(''O. hosii''), '' O. livida'', '' O. morafkai'', '' O. megatympanum'', the Ryukyu Tip-nosed Frog (''O. narina''), '' O. supranarina'', '' O. swinhoana'', '' O. tiannanensis'', '' O. utsunomiyaorum'' and probably others. The specialized lineage encompassing the Long-snout Torrent Frog (''O. nasica''), the

Concave-eared Torrent Frog ''Odorrana tormota'', also known as the concave-eared torrent frog, is a species of frog native to China. Its distribution is restricted to Huangshan Mountains in Anhui and Jiande and Anji counties in northern Zhejiang. It occurs in fast-flowi ...

(''O. tormota''), '' O. versabilis'', and maybe some more species also belongs here.

Species

Hose's frog __NOTOC__ Hose's frog (''Odorrana hosii'', often misspelled as ''O. hosei'') is a true frog species with a wide range in Southeast Asia. This species was named after zoologist Charles Hose. Its closest living relatives appear to be ''Odorrana chl ...

* '' Odorrana huanggangensis'' *'' Odorrana ichangensis'' * '' Odorrana indeprensa'' (Bain & Stuart, 2005) * '' Odorrana ishikawae'' –

Ishikawa's frog Ishikawa's frog (''Odorrana ishikawae'') is a species of frog in the family Ranidae. It is endemic to Okinawa Island, one of the Ryukyu Islands of Japan. It has been described as the most beautiful frog in Japan. Its natural habitats are temper ...

* '' Odorrana jingdongensis'' * '' Odorrana junlianensis'' * '' Odorrana khalam'' * '' Odorrana kuangwuensis'' * '' Odorrana kweichowensis'' *'' Odorrana leishanensis'' * '' Odorrana leporipes'' *'' Odorrana liboensis'' * '' Odorrana lipuensis'' * '' Odorrana livida'' * '' Odorrana lungshengensis'' * '' Odorrana macrotympana'' * '' Odorrana margaretae'' * '' Odorrana mawphlangensis'' * ''

Odorrana monjerai ''Odorrana monjerai'' is a medium-sized frog of the genus '' Odorrana''. Description & habitat ''O. monjerai'' has only been found in the Teroi River on Gunung Jerai, Kedah State, West Malaysia. It is distinguished from all other members of th ...

'' * '' Odorrana morafkai'' * '' Odorrana mutschmanni'' Pham, Nguyen, Le, Bonkowski, and Ziegler, 2016 * '' Odorrana nanjiangensis'' Fei, Ye, Xie & Jiang, 2007 * '' Odorrana narina'' – Ryukyu tip-nosed frog * '' Odorrana nasica'' – Long-snout torrent frog (formerly in ''Amolops'') * '' Odorrana nasuta'' * '' Odorrana orba'' * '' Odorrana rotodora'' *'' Odorrana sangzhiensis'' * '' Odorrana schmackeri'' * '' Odorrana sinica'' * '' Odorrana splendida'' * '' Odorrana supranarina'' * '' Odorrana swinhoana'' * '' Odorrana tianmuii'' * '' Odorrana tiannanensis'' * '' Odorrana tormota'' –

Concave-eared torrent frog ''Odorrana tormota'', also known as the concave-eared torrent frog, is a species of frog native to China. Its distribution is restricted to Huangshan Mountains in Anhui and Jiande and Anji counties in northern Zhejiang. It occurs in fast-flowi ...

* '' Odorrana trankieni'' * '' Odorrana utsunomiyaorum'' * '' Odorrana versabilis'' * '' Odorrana wuchuanensis'' * '' Odorrana yentuensis'' * '' Odorrana yizhangensis'' * '' Odorrana zhaoi'' In addition, the Phu Luang cliff frog (presently ''Huia aureola'') might belong in ''Odorrana'' too.

Footnotes

References

* (2007): Paraphyly of Chinese ''Amolops'' (Anura, Ranidae) and phylogenetic position of the rare Chinese frog, ''Amolops tormotus''. ''

Zootaxa ''Zootaxa'' is a peer-reviewed scientific mega journal for animal taxonomists. It is published by Magnolia Press (Auckland, New Zealand). The journal was established by Zhi-Qiang Zhang in 2001 and new issues are published multiple times a week ...

'' 1531: 49–55
PDF fulltext
* (2008): The phylogenetic problem of ''Huia'' (Amphibia: Ranidae). '' Mol. Phylogenet. Evol.'' 46(1): 49-60. PDF fulltext
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2702470 Amphibians of Asia Amphibian genera