Salamanders are part of a different group of amphibians. The group they belong to is called Caudata. Not all animals in this group are called salamanders, there are also newts, sirens, olms, etc but they are sometimes just lumped into being called salamanders. The Appalachian Mountains of the United States is the salamander capitol of… Continue reading Salamanders (Caudata)
Tag: Family Friday
Caecilians (Gymnophiona)
photo by Leandro J.C.L. Moraes, Alexandre P. de Almeida, Rafael de Fraga, Rommel R. Zamora, Renata M. Pirani, Ariane A.A. Silva, VinÃcius T. de Carvalho, Marcelo Gordo, Fernanda P. Werneck. - https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/20288/, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=64703938 That's not a worm, its a caecilian! Caecilians are amphibians just like frogs and salamanders but they lack limb… Continue reading Caecilians (Gymnophiona)
Conrauidae – Slippery Frogs
Image from San Diego Zoo Suborder: NeobatrachiaGenera: 1 - ConrauaNumber of Species: 6 - Conraua alleni, Conraua beccarii, Conraua crassipes, Togo Slippery Toad (Conraua derooi), Goliath Frog or Giant Slippery Frog (Conraua goliath), Cameroon slippery frog (Conraua robusta) Conrauidae is a small family of frogs from sub-Saharan Africa. The largest frog in the world -… Continue reading Conrauidae – Slippery Frogs
Pyxicephalidae
Suborder: NeobatrachiaSub-families: 2 - Cacosterninae and PyxicephalinaeNumber of Genera: 12Cacosterninae - Amietia (16), Anhydrophryne (3), Arthroleptella (10), Cacosternum (17), Microbatrachella (1), Natalobatrachus (1), Nothophryne (1), Poyntonia (1), Strongylopus (11), and Tomopterna (15)Pyxicephalinae - Aubria (3) and Pyxicephalus (4)Number of Species: 83 Pyxicephalidae is a family of frogs from Sub-Saharan Africa. The family used to be… Continue reading Pyxicephalidae
Allophyrnidae
Suborder: NeobatrachiaNumber of Genera: 1 - AllophryneNumber of Species: 3 - Allophryne relicta, Allophryne resplendens, and Turkeit Hill Frog (Allophryne ruthveni) Allophyrnidae is a small controversial family of only three species of frog. Some biologists believe the frogs should be in the True Toad family, Bufonidae or the Glass Frog family, Centrolenidae. The Turkeit Hill Frog… Continue reading Allophyrnidae
Gastric Brooding Frog
The Gastric Brooding Frog (Rheobatrachus) were frogs native to eastern Australia but sadly they went extinct in 1980s. What made them interesting is the fact that the female frogs actually swallowed their eggs and incubated them in their stomach. The two species of Gastric Brooding Frogs are the only known species of frogs that can… Continue reading Gastric Brooding Frog
Hyperoliidae – African Tree Frogs
Suborder: NeobatrachiaNumber of Genera: 17 - Acanthixalus, Afrixalus, Alexteroon, Arlequinus, Callixalus, Chrysobatrachus, Cryptothylax, Heterixalus, Hyperolius, Kassina, Kassinula, Morerella, Opisthothylax, Paracassina, Phlyctimantis, Semnodactylus, and TachycnemisNumber of Species:231 The family Hyperoliidae or the African Tree Frog is found in Sub Saharan Africa, Madagascar, and some small islands. Most of the species are arboreal (living in trees) but the… Continue reading Hyperoliidae – African Tree Frogs
Suborder Neobatrachia
The Suborder Neobatrachia are the more advanced frogs and toads and are generally the frogs and toads that people know. The name means new frogs since evolved later than the other suborders. The majority of frogs and toads are in this suborder. There are over 30 families of frogs and toads in this suborder so… Continue reading Suborder Neobatrachia
Suborder Mesobatrachia
The suborder Mesobatrachia is the second largest sub orders of frogs. Mesobatrachia means middle frogs as they aren't primitive such as the sub order Archaeobatrachia but they aren't as advanced as Neobatrachia. The families in Mesobatrachia are Megophryidae (Leaf Litter Frogs), Pelobatidae (European Spadefoot toads), Pelodytidae (Parsley Frogs), Pipidae (Tongueless Frogs), Rhinophrynidae (Mexican Burrowing Frog), and Scaphiopodidae (American Spadefoot Toads).
Suborder Archaeobatrachia
Archaeobatrachia is the ancient frog and toad suborder. The suborder contains only four families with under 30 total species in total. These frogs are considered ancient because they have characteristics common with extinct frogs and toads and that are not present in the other frog families. The thing that all frogs and toads have in… Continue reading Suborder Archaeobatrachia