Class Amphibia Gray, 1825. In: Zhang, Z.-Q. (Ed.) Animal biodiversity: An outline of higher-level classi­fication and survey of taxonomic richness

Abstract

-

The earliest record of the endemic African frog family Ptychadenidae from the Oligocene Nsungwe Formation of Tanzania

“…However, the earliest Eocene record attributed to Ranidae is based on a displasiocoelous presacral vertebra (Ro cek and Rage, 2000); based on the distribution of this trait, this record is best characterized as Ranoidea incertae sedis. Unraveling the phylogenetic affinities of fossil anurans is complicated by the fact that the taxonomic inclusiveness of both Ranidae and Ranoidea are often not explicit (for one exception, see Rage, 1984) and that the large radiation of ranoid frogs is now divided into several families (Blackburn and Wake, 2011). Hence, it remains difficult to interpret the taxonomic affinities of many fossils identified as 'ranid' or 'ranoid' in the literature, and most fossils previously attributed to the Ranidae are best considered as members of the broader clade Ranoidea unless specific morphologies are described to align them specifically with the Ranidae (Folie et al, 2012).…”

“…Living ptychadenids comprise approximately 50 species in three genera (Hildebrandtia, Lanzarana, Ptychadena) and are restricted to sub-Saharan Africa (Blackburn and Wake, 2011), with the exception of two extant species of Ptychadena that occur in the Nile Delta (Baha El Din, 2006;Dehling and Sinsch, 2013). Each ptychadenid genus exhibits the complete and symmetrical fusion of the last presacral vertebra with the sacrum (Vergnaud-Grazzini, 1966;Clarke, 1982;Scott, 2005), and the distinctive anterolateral orientation of the transverse process of the last presacral vertebra distinguishes these fused vertebral elements from those of other anurans.…”

“…The Ranoidea is a cosmopolitan radiation of frogs comprising 19 families and more than 2400 extant species (nearly 40% of all anurans; Ford and Cannatella, 1993;Scott, 2005;Bossuyt et al, 2006;Blackburn and Wake, 2011;Barej et al, 2014). Studies using time-calibrated molecular phylogenies suggest a Cretaceous origin for the Ranoidea (Bossuyt and Roelants, 2009), but the Mesozoic and early Cenozoic fossil record of this diverse clade remains poor (Rage, 1984;Ro cek, 2000;Ro cek and Rage, 2000;Rage and Ro cek, 2003).…”

The efficiency of indicator groups for the conservation of amphibians in theBrazilianAtlanticForest

“…These families included the Allophrynidae, Aromobatidae, Caeciliidae, Centrolenidae, Ceratophryidae, Craugastoridae, Dendrobatidae, Eleutherodactylidae, Hemiphractidae, Pipidae, Ranidae, Plethodontidae, Rhinatrematidae, and Strabomantidae. The taxonomy adopted for the families followed the classification proposed by Blackburn and Wake (2011).…”

Hermaphroditism induction of Sub-Lethal Dose of Atrazine and Atrazine-Nitrate on the Egyptian Toad, <i>Sclerophrys Regularis</i>

“…Amphibians are important ecological components of both wet and dry lands [1,2]. Among vertebrates they are distinctive in many ways and contribute in many ecosystem services, so they have an important ecological and human role.…”