Pipidae

The Pipidae are a family of primitive, tongueless frogs. The 41 species in the family Pipidae are found in tropical South America (genus Pipa) and sub-Saharan Africa (the three other genera).

Pipidae
Temporal range: Early Cretaceous-recent
145–0 Ma
African dwarf frog
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Clade: Pipoidea
Clade: Pipimorpha
Family: Pipidae
Gray 1825
Distribution of Pipidae in black

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.[1] 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 4 to 19 cm (1.6 to 7.5 in) in body length.[2]

Extant genera

Family Pipidae Gray 1825[3]

  • Hymenochirus Boulenger 1896 - dwarf clawed frogs (4 species)
  • Pipa Laurenti 1768 - Surinam toads (7 species)
  • Pseudhymenochirus Chabanaud 1920 - Merlin's dwarf gray frog or Merlin's clawed frog (1 species)
  • Xenopus Wagler 1827 - clawed frogs (29 species)[4]
    • Subgenus (Silurana) Wagler 1827 - common clawed frogs
    • Subgenus (Xenopus) Gray 1864 - tropical clawed frogs

Fossil record

The fossil record for pipids and close relatives (Pipimorpha) is relatively good, with several extinct species known.[5] Six of these are placed in the extant genus Xenopus, the remainder in extinct genera. These fossils are known from Africa, South America, and the Middle East back to the Lower Cretaceous.[2][5]

Fossil Pipidae

South America
Pipidae fossil locations in South America
Late Cretaceous Los Alamitos
Danian Salamanca
Thanetian Huitrera
Ypresian Itaboraí
Casamayoran Laguna del Hunco
Mustersan Pozo
Middle Miocene Urumaco
New Pipidae species
Pipidae genera
Indeterminate Pipidae
MaAgeTaxon
bold is n. sp.
FormationBasinCountryRefs
84Campaniancf. Xenopus sp.Los AlamitosNeuquénArgentina[6]
61.9Peligran?Pipidae indet.Hansen Mb, SalamancaGolfo San JorgeArgentina[7]
54.69RiochicanLlankibatrachus truebaeHuitreraNeuquénArgentina[8]
53ItaboraianXenopus romeriItaboraíItaboraíBrazil[9]
52.44CasamayoranShelania pascualiLaguna del HuncoCañadón AsfaltoArgentina[10]
45Mustersan?Pipidae indet.PozoUcayaliPeru[11]
11.8Mayoan-Huayqueriancf. Pipa sp.UrumacoFalcón BasinVenezuela[12]


References

  1. "AmphibiaWeb: Pipidae". Berkeley, California: AmphibiaWeb. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
  2. Zweifel, Richard G. (1998). Cogger, H.G.; Zweifel, R.G. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 86–87. ISBN 0-12-178560-2.
  3. Pipidae at the Amphibian Species of the World 6.0 - AMNH
  4. Evans et al., 2015
  5. Gómez, 2016
  6. Báez, 1987
  7. Gelfo et al., 2007
  8. Báez & Pugener, 2003
  9. Estes & Wake, 1972
  10. Báez & Trueb, 1997
  11. Antoine et al., 2016
  12. Head et al., 2006

Bibliography

Data related to Pipidae at Wikispecies Media related to Pipidae at Wikimedia Commons

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