Rana (genus)

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Rana
Temporal range: Early Miocene–present
Rana aurora 6230.JPG
Northern red-legged frog (Rana aurora)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Ranidae
Genus: Rana
Linnaeus, 1758
Type species
Rana temporaria
Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms
  • PseudoamolopsJiang et al., 1997

and see text

Rana (derived from Latin rana, meaning 'frog') is a genus of frogs commonly known as the Holarctic true frogs, pond frogs or brown frogs. Members of this genus are found through much of Eurasia and western North America. Many other genera were formerly included here. [1] [2] These true frogs are usually largish species characterized by their slim waists and wrinkled skin; many have thin ridges running along their backs, but they generally lack "warts" as in typical toads. They are excellent jumpers due to their long, slender legs. The typical webbing found on their hind feet allows for easy movement through water. Coloration is mostly greens and browns above, with darker and yellowish spots.

Contents

Distribution and habitat

Many frogs in this genus breed in early spring, although subtropical and tropical species may breed throughout the year. Males of most of the species are known to call, but a few species are thought to be voiceless. Females lay eggs in rafts or large, globular clusters, and can produce up to 20,000 at one time.

Diet

Rana species feed mainly on insects and invertebrates, but swallow anything they can fit into their mouths,[ citation needed ] including small vertebrates. Among their predators are egrets, crocodiles, and snakes.

Systematics

Common frog (Rana temporaria), a member of the Eurasian clade and the type species of the genus and family as a whole Rana temporaria - Grasfrosch with flower.jpg
Common frog (Rana temporaria), a member of the Eurasian clade and the type species of the genus and family as a whole
California red-legged frog (R. draytonii), a member of the North American clade and one of the largest members of the genus California red-legged frog.jpg
California red-legged frog (R. draytonii), a member of the North American clade and one of the largest members of the genus

Some 50 to 100 extant species are now placed in this genus by various authors; many other species formerly placed in Rana are now placed elsewhere. Frost [3] restricted Rana to the Old World true frogs and the Eurasian brown and pond frogs of the common frog R. temporaria group, [4] although other authors disagreed with this arrangement. [5] [6] [2] [7] In 2016, a consortium of Rana researchers from throughout Europe, Asia, and North America revised the group, and reported that the arrangement of Frost (2006) resulted in nonmonophyletic groups. [8] Yuan et al. (2016) [9] included all the North American ranids within Rana, and used subgenera for the well-differentiated species groups within Rana. Both of these classifications are presented below.

Genera recently split from Rana are Babina , Clinotarsus (including Nasirana), Glandirana , Hydrophylax , Hylarana , Lithobates , Odorrana (including Wurana), Pelophylax , Pulchrana , Sanguirana , and Sylvirana . Of these, Odorrana and Lithobates are so closely related to Rana proper, they could conceivably be included here once again. The others seem to be far more distant relatives, in particular Pelophylax. [1] [2]

New species are still being described in some numbers. A number of extinct species are in the genus, including Rana basaltica , from Miocene deposits in China. [10]

Species

The following species are recognised in the genus Rana: [11]

*Rana maoershanensis is likely not its own species, according to new genetic research. [12]

Rana basaltica, a fossil species from China Rana basaltica - Mio China.jpg
Rana basaltica , a fossil species from China

The following fossil species are also known: [13] [14] [15]

The earliest known fossils of true Rana are of an indeterminate species from the Early Miocene of Germany. [16] The paleosubspecies Rana temporaria fossilis was described in 1951 for articulated fossils from the late Eocene/early Oligocene of Bulgaria, but this taxonomic proposal was found to be invalid. [15] Rana likely originated in Asia and migrated west to colonize Europe by the early Miocene, as was done earlier by Pelophylax . [17]

Alternative classifications

AmphibiaWeb includes the following species, arranged in subgenera:

Subgenus Amerana (Pacific brown frogs)

Subgenus Aquarana (North American water frogs)

Subgenus Lithobates (neotropical true frogs)

Subgenus Liuhurana

Subgenus Pantherana (leopard, pickerel and gopher frogs)

Subgenus Pseudorana (Weining brown frog)

Subgenus Rana (Eurasian brown frogs)

Subgenus Zweifelia (Mexican torrent frogs)

Incertae sedis (no assigned subgenus)

Notes on other taxonomic arrangements:

The harpist brown frog, Kampira Falls frog, or Yaeyama harpist frog was formerly known as R. psaltes; it was subsequently identified as the long-known R. okinavana. The latter name has been misapplied to the Ryūkyū brown frog, but the harpist brown frog is a rather distinct species that apparently belongs in Babina or Nidirana if these are considered valid. [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">True frog</span> Family of frogs

True frogs is the common name for the frog family Ranidae. They have the widest distribution of any frog family. They are abundant throughout most of the world, occurring on all continents except Antarctica. The true frogs are present in North America, northern South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. The Asian range extends across the East Indies to New Guinea and a single species, the Australian wood frog, has spread into the far north of Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leopard frog</span> Common name of several species of amphibian

Leopard frog is a generic name used to refer to various species in the true frog genus Lithobates. They all have similar coloration: brown or green with spots that form a leopard pattern. They are distinguished by their distribution and behavioral, morphological, and genetic differences. The range of the various species of leopard frogs extends from the Hudson Bay in Canada, throughout the United States, throughout Mexico and other parts of Central America, and possibly the very northern section of South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern leopard frog</span> Species of amphibian

Lithobates pipiens formerly Rana pipiens, commonly known as the northern leopard frog, is a species of leopard frog from the true frog family, native to parts of Canada and the United States. It is the state amphibian of Minnesota and Vermont.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern leopard frog</span> Species of amphibian

Lithobates sphenocephalus or Rana sphenocephala, commonly known as the southern leopard frog, is a medium-sized anuran in the family Ranidae. The southern leopard frog is one of the 36 species currently or formerly classified in the Rana genus found in North America. It is native to eastern North America from Kansas to New York to Florida. It is also an introduced species in some areas. This species lives in cool, clear water in the north, whereas in the south it occurs in warmer turbid and murky waters of coastal and floodplain swamps, twilight zones of caves, and abandoned mines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pig frog</span> Species of amphibian

The pig frog is a species of aquatic frog found in the Southeastern United States, from South Carolina to Texas. Some sources also refer to it as the lagoon frog or the southern bullfrog.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plains leopard frog</span> Species of amphibian

The Plains leopard frog is a spotted frog found in North America. It is sometimes referred to as Blair's leopard frog, named after the noted zoologist and University of Texas professor, Dr. W. Frank Blair.

<i>Lithobates</i> Genus of amphibians

Lithobates, commonly known as the bullfrogs, is a genus of true frogs, of the family Ranidae. The name is derived from litho- (stone) and the Greek bates, meaning one that treads on rock, or rock climber. As presently defined, it includes many of eastern North America's most familiar aquatic frog species, including the American bullfrog, green frog, and the leopard frogs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chiricahua leopard frog</span> Species of amphibian

The Chiricahua leopard frog is a species of frog in the family Ranidae, the true frogs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forrer's grass frog</span> Species of amphibian

Forrer's grass frog or Forrer's leopard frog is a species of frog in the family Ranidae found in Mexico and Central America through Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua to Costa Rica. It is a widespread and common frog found in lowland and seasonal tropical forests. It can also adapt to man-made habitats such as flooded agricultural lands and other water content systems. Reproduction requires permanent pools and lagoons.

<i>Lithobates heckscheri</i> Species of amphibian

The river frog is a species of aquatic frog in the family Ranidae. It is endemic to the southeastern United States. Its natural habitats are temperate rivers, swamps, freshwater lakes and freshwater marshes. It is threatened by habitat loss.

The big-footed leopard frog or bigfoot leopard frog, is a species of frog in the family Ranidae endemic to western central Mexico where it is found in the Nayarit, Jalisco, Michoacán, and Guanajuato states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sahara frog</span> Species of amphibian

The Sahara frog is a species of frog in the family Ranidae. It is native to Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Spanish North Africa, and Western Sahara; it has also been introduced to Gran Canaria. In French it is called grenouille verte d'Afrique du Nord, and in Spanish it is known as rana verde norteafricana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Showy leopard frog</span> Species of amphibian

The showy leopard frog is a species of frog in the family Ranidae endemic to Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tlaloc's leopard frog</span> Species of amphibian

Tlaloc's leopard frog, or rana de Tláloc in Spanish, is a species of frog in the family Ranidae endemic to the Valley of Mexico. It is most likely extinct.

<i>Pelophylax</i> Genus of amphibians

Pelophylax is a genus of true frogs widespread in Eurasia, with a few species ranging into northern Africa. This genus was erected by Leopold Fitzinger in 1843 to accommodate the green frogs of the Old World, which he considered distinct from the brown pond frogs of Carl Linnaeus' genus Rana.

<i>Hylarana</i> Genus of amphibians

Hylarana, commonly known as golden-backed frogs, is a genus of true frogs found in tropical Asia. It was formerly considered highly diverse, containing around 84 to 96 valid species, but taxonomic revision resulted in a major change in the contents of the genus, recognizing just four species.

Hyaloklossia is a genus of parasitic alveolates in the phylum Apicomplexa. Only two species in this genus are currently recognised.

References

  1. 1 2 Cai, Hong-xia; Che, Jing; Pang, Jun-feng; Zhao, Er-mi; Zhang, Ya-ping (2007). "Paraphyly of Chinese Amolops (Anura, Ranidae) and phylogenetic position of the rare Chinese frog, Amolops tormotus" (PDF). Zootaxa . 1531: 49–55. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1531.1.4.
  2. 1 2 3 Stuart, Bryan L (2008). "The phylogenetic problem of Huia (Amphibia: Ranidae)". Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 46 (1): 49–60. Bibcode:2008MolPE..46...49S. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2007.09.016. PMID   18042407.
  3. Frost, Darrel R. (2006): Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 4, 2006-Aug-17.
  4. Lithobates, American Museum of Natural History.
  5. Hillis, D. M.; Wilcox, T. P. (2005). "Phylogeny of the New World true frogs (Rana)". Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 34 (2): 299–314. Bibcode:2005MolPE..34..299H. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2004.10.007. PMID   15619443.
  6. Hillis, D. M. (2007). "Constraints in naming parts of the Tree of Life". Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 42 (2): 331–338. Bibcode:2007MolPE..42..331H. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2006.08.001. PMID   16997582.
  7. Pauly, Greg B.; Hillis, David M.; Cannatella, David C. (2009). "Taxonomic freedom and the role of official lists of species names" (PDF). Herpetologica. 65 (2): 115–128. doi:10.1655/08-031r1.1. S2CID   283839. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2009-10-28.
  8. Yuan, Z.-Y.; et al. (2016). "Spatiotemporal diversification of the true frogs (genus Rana): A historical framework for a widely studied group of model organisms". Systematic Biology. 65 (5): 824–42. doi: 10.1093/sysbio/syw055 . hdl: 2292/43460 . PMID   27288482.
  9. Yuan, Z.-Y.; Zhou, W.-W.; Chen, X.; Poyarkov, N. A.; Chen, H.-M.; Jang-Liaw, N.-H.; Chou, W.-H.; Iizuka, K.; Min, M.-S.; Kuzmin, S. L.; Zhang, Y.-P.; Cannatella, D. C.; Hillis, D. M.; Che, J. (2016). "Spatiotemporal diversification of the true frogs (genus Rana): A historical framework for a widely studied group of model organisms". Systematic Biology. 65 (5): 824–42. doi: 10.1093/sysbio/syw055 . hdl: 2292/43460 . PMID   27288482.
  10. Young, C. C. (1936). "A Miocene fossil frog from Shantung". Acta Geologica Sinica (English Edition). 15 (2): 189–193. doi:10.1111/j.1755-6724.1936.mp15002003.x.
  11. "Rana Linnaeus, 1758 | Amphibian Species of the World". research.amnh.org. Retrieved 2020-01-16.
  12. Fang, YAN; Ke, JIANG; Hongman, CHEN; Ping, FANG; Jieqiong, JIN; Yi, LI; Shaoneng, WANG; Robert, W. MURPHY; Jing, CHE; Yaping, ZHANG (2011-08-03). "Matrilineal History of the <I>Rana longicrus</I> Species Group (<I>Rana</I>, Ranidae, Anura) and the Description of a New Species from Hunan, Southern China". Asian Herpetological Research. 2 (2): 61–71. doi:10.3724/sp.j.1245.2011.00061. ISSN   2095-0357.
  13. Syromyatnikova, Elena (2016). "ANURANS OF THE TAGAY LOCALITY (BAIKAL LAKE, RUSSIA; MIOCENE):BOMBINATORIDAE, HYLIDAE, AND RANIDA". Russian Journal of Herpetology. 23 (2): 145–157.
  14. Roček, Zbyněk (2013-12-01). "Mesozoic and Tertiary Anura of Laurasia". Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments. 93 (4): 397–439. Bibcode:2013PdPe...93..397R. doi:10.1007/s12549-013-0131-y. ISSN   1867-1608.
  15. 1 2 Sanchiz, B. (2012-01-01). "Nomenclatural notes on living and fossil amphibians". Graellsia.
  16. "The oldest representative of a brown frog (Ranidae) from the Early Miocene of Germany - Acta Palaeontologica Polonica". www.app.pan.pl. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  17. Lemierre, Alfred; Gendry, Damien; Poirier, Marie-Margaux; Gillet, Valentin; Vullo, Romain (2022-10-28). "The oldest articulated ranid from Europe: a Pelophylax specimen from the lowest Oligocene of Chartres-de-Bretagne (N.W. France)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 42 (4). Bibcode:2022JVPal..42E1663L. doi:10.1080/02724634.2023.2191663. ISSN   0272-4634.
  18. Matsui, Masafumi (2007). "Unmasking Rana okinavana Boettger, 1895 from the Ryukyus, Japan (Amphibia: Anura: Ranidae)". Zool. Sci. 24 (2): 199–204. doi:10.2108/zsj.24.199. hdl: 2433/85327 . PMID   17409733. S2CID   1488589.

Further reading