Suriname toads are members of the
frog
A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...
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 ...
''Pipa'', within the family
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 ...
.
They are native to northern
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
and extreme southern
Central America
Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...
(Panama).
[ Like other pipids, these frogs are almost exclusively aquatic.
]
Species
There are seven recognized species:[
* '' Pipa arrabali'' Izecksohn, 1976 – Arrabal's Surinam toad
* '' Pipa aspera'' Müller, 1924 – Albina Surinam toad
* '' Pipa carvalhoi'' (Miranda-Ribeiro, 1937) – Carvalho's Surinam toad
* '']Pipa myersi
Myers' Surinam toad (''Pipa myersi'') is a species of frog in the family Pipidae found in Panama and possibly Colombia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and rivers. It is threatened by habitat loss
Hab ...
'' Trueb, 1984 – Myers' Surinam toad
* '' Pipa parva'' Ruthven and Gaige, 1923 – Sabana Surinam toad
* ''Pipa pipa
The pipa, pípá, or p'i-p'a () is a traditional Chinese musical instrument belonging to the plucked category of instruments. Sometimes called the "Chinese lute", the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets rangi ...
'' (Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...
, 1758
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the starting point of modern zoologic ...
) – Surinam toad
* ''Pipa snethlageae
''Pipa snethlageae'', the Utinga Surinam toad, is a species of frog in the family Pipidae found in Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and possibly Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and freshwater marshes. It i ...
'' Müller, 1914 – Utinga Surinam toad
In addition, ''Pipa verrucosa'' Wiegmann, 1832 is included here ''incertae sedis
or is a term used for a taxonomy (biology), taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertainty ...
''.[
]
Ecology and behavior
Life cycle
During reproduction the female Pipa frog will rise to the surface of the water with the male and after a series of movements the male fertilizes the eggs of the female. The male then places the eggs on the females back with its feet. The female Pipa frog will then incubate the eggs in the dorsal (its back). The tadpoles then develop in the dorsal of the female.
References
External links
*
*
YouTube footage of Surinam toads emerging
Pipidae
Amphibian genera
Amphibians of Central America
Amphibians of South America
Taxa named by Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti
{{Pipidae-stub