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A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura. The oldest fossil "proto-frog" Triadobatrachus is known from the Early Triassic of Madagascar, but molecular clock dating suggests their split from other amphibians may extend further back to the Permian, 265 million years ago. Frogs are widely distributed, ranging from the tropics to subarctic regions, but the greatest concentration of species diversity is in tropical rainforest. Frogs account for around 88% of extant amphibian species. They are also one of the five most diverse vertebrate orders. Warty frog species tend to be called toads, but the distinction between frogs and toads is informal, not from taxonomy or evolutionary history.
A tadpole or polliwog is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found in adult amphibians such as a lateral line, gills and swimming tails. As they undergo metamorphosis, they start to develop functional lungs for breathing air, and the diet of tadpoles changes drastically.
The Microhylidae, commonly known as narrow-mouthed frogs, are a geographically widespread family of frogs. The 683 species are in 57 genera and 11 subfamilies.
Heleophrynidae is a family of frogs, commonly known as ghost frogs. They are thought to be the most basal group in the Neobatrachia. The family consists of two genera, Heleophryne and Hadromophryne, with seven species. Ghost frogs live in swift-moving mountain streams in South Africa. The common name of "ghost frogs" may have been coined because of their occurrence in Skeleton Gorge.
Phillip Vallentine Tobias was a South African palaeoanthropologist and Professor Emeritus at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. He was best known for his work at South Africa's hominid fossil sites. He was also an activist for the eradication of apartheid and gave numerous anti-apartheid speeches at protest rallies and also to academic audiences.
Indirana is a genus of frogs in the family Ranixalidae. These frogs are endemic to the Western Ghats of India. They are sometimes known under the common name Indian frogs, whereas members of their parent family are named "leaping frogs".
Sydney Harold Skaife ('Stacey') D.Sc. FRSSAf. was an eminent South African entomologist and naturalist. His career and educational publications covered a wide field. Especially in his later years his main research interest was in social insects and the transitional phases in sociality, particularly in the Hymenoptera and Isoptera. He wrote detective novels using the pseudoynm Hendrik Brand.
Rose's rain frog or Rose's rainfrog is a species of frog in the family Brevicipitidae. It is endemic to the sandveld of south-western coastal South Africa. It is less-frequently known as Rose's short-headed frog, Rose's Blaasop, or the sand rain frog. Some treat Breviceps fasciatus as a synonym of this species, although other authorities have expressed doubt.
Du Toit's torrent frog, the Mt. Elgon torrent frog, or the Kenya rocky river frog is a species of frog in the family Petropedetidae endemic to Mount Elgon in Kenya; it has not been found on the Ugandan part of the mountain. It is one of many, often taxonomically unrelated, frogs referred to as torrent frogs.
Petropedetes is a genus of frogs in the family Petropedetidae, found in sub-saharan tropical Africa. 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 is torrent frogs.
Amietia vandijki, also known as Van Dijk's river frog, is a species of frog in the family Pyxicephalidae. It is endemic to South Africa. The name commemorates Eddie Van Dijk, a South African herpetologist.
Amietia vertebralis, also known as Maluti river frog, aquatic river frog, ice frog, large-mouthed frog, or water frog, is a species of frogs in the family Pyxicephalidae. It is an aquatic high-altitude species found in Lesotho and neighbouring South Africa.
The Handwoordeboek van die Afrikaanse Taal (HAT), is the best known explanatory dictionary for the Afrikaans language and is generally regarded as authoritative. Compared to the Woordeboek van die Afrikaanse Taal (WAT) it is a shorter Afrikaans explanatory dictionary in a single volume. The latest edition of the HAT, the sixth, was published in 2015, 50 years after the first edition of 1965. HAT6 comprises 1,636 pages.
Calyptocephalella is a genus of frogs in the family Calyptocephalellidae. It is represented by a single living species, Calyptocephalella gayi, commonly known as the helmeted water toad, Chilean helmeted bull frog, or wide-mouthed toad. Additionally, there are a few extinct species that are only known from Late Cretaceous and Paleogene fossil remains from Patagonia in South America and the Antarctic Peninsula. The helmeted water toad living today is aquatic to semi-aquatic, and found in deep ponds and reservoirs in central Chile and possibly adjacent west-central Argentina.
Brevicipitidae or rain frogs is a small family of frogs found in eastern and southern Africa. As of 2020 contains 37 species in 5 genera. Formerly included as subfamily in Microhylidae, phylogenetic research has indicated the brevicipitine frogs should be considered as a family with Hemisotidae as the most closely related sister taxon.
Vandijkophrynus, also known as Van Dijk's toads, are a small genus of true toads, family Bufonidae. They are native to Southern Africa. The name commemorates Eddie Van Dijk, a South African herpetologist.
Hillel Abbe Shapiro was a South African forensic pathologist with a range of specialisms in experimental physiology and forensic medicine. He was editor of medical journals, medical text books and a university lecturer.
Kathleen Dixon Gordon-Gray was a South African botanist, plant collector, and educator noted for her expertise in the flora of Natal. She worked as both a lecturer and professor of botany at the University of Natal. In 1998 she was awarded the Senior (Silver) Medal of the South African Association of Botanists. Her research publications primarily covered the taxonomy of Acacia, Cassia, Cyperaceae, and Gramineae.
Thomas Maskew Miller was a South African bookseller and publisher. Miller founded his namesake press in 1893 as a family business after working for Darter Brothers & Walton. He opened offices in Cape Town, Pretoria, and Bulawayo. Initially, he imported books and stationery for sale, but later he began publishing books himself.
References
- Visser, J. and A. Channing. (1997). A new species of river frog from the Swartberg, South Africa (Ranidae: Afrana). Journal of African Zoology 111: 191–198.
- South African Journal of Science (December 1956). "Annual General Meeting of the South African Biological Society", South African Journal of Science, December 1956 (Pg 166).
- Southern African Association for the Advancement of Science. "List of award winners: British Association Medal (Silver)", http://s2a3.org.za/joomla/index.php/awards/british-association-medal-silver
