The African clawed frog, also known as the xenopus, African clawed toad, African claw-toed frog or the platanna) is a species of African aquatic frog of the family Pipidae. Its name is derived from the three short claws on each hind foot, which it uses to tear apart its food. The word Xenopus means 'strange foot' and laevis means 'smooth'.
Xenopus is a genus of highly aquatic frogs native to sub-Saharan Africa. Twenty species are currently described within it. The two best-known species of this genus are Xenopus laevis and Xenopus tropicalis, which are commonly studied as model organisms for developmental biology, cell biology, toxicology, neuroscience and for modelling human disease and birth defects.
The Cameroon clawed frog is a species of frog in the family Pipidae found in Angola, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and possibly Sudan. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, heavily degraded former forest, and ponds. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The volcano clawed frog is a species of frog in the family Pipidae endemic to Cameroon. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, swamps, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, pastureland, and aquaculture ponds. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Andre's clawed frog is a species of frog in the family Pipidae. It is known with certainty only from coastal Cameroon, northeastern Gabon, western Central African Republic, and northwestern Angola. It presumably occurs in the intervening Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Equatorial Guinea.
The Marsabit clawed frog is a species of frog in the family Pipidae found in Kenya, Tanzania, and possibly Uganda. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, rivers, freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, pastureland, and ponds.
Xenopus boumbaensis, the Mawa clawed frog, is a species of frog in the family Pipidae. It is known from a few localities in central and south-eastern Cameroon, and from north-western Republic of Congo and extreme south-western Central African Republic; it probably occurs more widely in the central African forest belt, but identification is difficult: it is one of the cryptic species that resemble Xenopus fraseri, from which it can be distinguished by chromosome number (2n=72) and a male advertisement call of a single note.
The Eritrea clawed frog or Peracca's clawed frog is a species of frog in the family Pipidae found in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Sudan. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, dry savanna, moist savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland, subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, rivers, swamps, freshwater lakes, and freshwater marshes. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The Cape clawed frog, Cape platanna or Gill's platanna is a species of frogs in the family Pipidae endemic to South Africa. Its natural habitats are Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, and ponds. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The Lake Oku clawed frog is a species of frog in the family Pipidae, endemic to Lake Oku, a small crater lake in northwest Cameroon. It is a small, dark-coloured, fully aquatic frog with a length of 28 to 36 mm, males being slightly smaller than females. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated this frog as "critically endangered" on the basis of its small area of occurrence at a single location, and the possibility that introduction of non-native fish into the lake could cause the frog to be wiped out.
Müller's platanna, also known as Müller's clawed frog, is a species of frog in the family Pipidae found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Eswatini, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The Bouchia clawed frog is a species of frog in the family Pipidae found in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and possibly the Republic of the Congo. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, swamps, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, rural gardens, and heavily degraded former forests.
The Uganda clawed frog is a species of frog in the family Pipidae found in Uganda and possibly the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, rural gardens, and heavily degraded former forest. It is threatened by habitat loss.
The Kivu clawed frog is a species of frog in the family Pipidae found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, rivers, swamps, freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, arable land, pastureland, rural gardens, water storage areas, ponds, and aquaculture ponds.
De Witte's clawed frog is a species of frog in the family Pipidae found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, and possibly Burundi. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, rivers, swamps, freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, arable land, pastureland, rural gardens, water storage areas, ponds, and canals and ditches.
Lanzarana is a genus of frogs in the family Ptychadenidae. It is monotypic, being represented by the singles species, Lanzarana largeni, commonly known as Lanza's frog.
The western clawed frog is a species of frog in the family Pipidae, also known as tropical clawed frog. It is the only species in the genus Xenopus to have a diploid genome. Its genome has been sequenced, making it a significant model organism for genetics that complements the related species Xenopus laevis, a widely used vertebrate model for developmental biology. X. tropicalis also has a number of advantages over X. laevis in research, such as a much shorter generation time, smaller size, and a larger number of eggs per spawn.
Xenopus itombwensis is a species of frogs in the family Pipidae endemic to the Itombwe Massif of the South Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Xenopus victorianus, the Lake Victoria clawed frog or Mwanza frog, is a species of frogs in the family Pipidae. It is found in aquatic habitats in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania. However, because of confusion with Xenopus laevis, the exact distribution is quite unclear.
Xenopus lenduensis, the Lendu Plateau clawed frog, is a species of frog in the family Pipidae endemic to the Orientale Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
