Rana (genus)

Rana
Northern red-legged frog (Rana aurora)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Anura
Suborder:	Neobatrachia
Family:	Ranidae
Genus:	Rana Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms
Lithobates and see text

Rana (commonly known as the Holarctic true frogs, pond frogs or brown frogs) is a genus of frogs. Members of this genus are found through much of Eurasia, North America, Central America, and the northern half of South America. Many other genera were formerly included here;^[1] see below for details.

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" like 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.

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 will swallow anything they can fit into their mouths, including small vertebrates. Among their predators are egrets, crocodiles and snakes.

Systematics

Some 50 to 100 species are now placed in this genus by various authors; many other species formerly placed in Rana are now placed elsewhere. Frost (2006) restricted Rana to the Old World true frogs and the Eurasian brown and pond frogs of the common frog R. temporaria group.,^[2] although other authors disagreed with this arrangement.^[3] 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 non-monophyletic groups.^[4] Yuan et al. (2016) 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 is so closely related to Rana proper, it could conceivably be included here once again. The others seem to be far more distant relatives, in particular Pelophylax.^[1]

New species are still being described in some numbers.

Species

Frost's (2006) classification includes the following species:

• Rana amurensis – Siberian tree frog, Siberian wood frog, Amur brown frog
• Rana arvalis – moor frog
• Rana asiatica – Central Asiatic frog, Asian frog
• Rana aurora – northern red-legged frog
• Rana boylii – foothill yellow-legged frog
• Rana camerani – long-legged wood frog
• Rana cascadae – Cascades frog
• Rana chaochiaoensis – Chaochiao frog
• Rana chensinensis – Asiatic grass frog, Chinese brown frog
• Rana chevronta – chevron-spotted brown frog
• Rana coreana – Korean brown frog
• Rana dalmatina – agile frog
• Rana draytonii – California red-legged frog
• Rana dybowskii – Dybowski's frog
• Rana graeca – Greek stream frog, Greek frog
• Rana hanluica
• Rana holtzi – long-legged wood frog
• Rana huanrenensis – Huanren frog
• Rana iberica – Iberian frog
• Rana italica – Italian stream frog
• Rana japonica – Japanese brown frog
• Rana johnsi – Johns' groove-toed frog
• Rana kauffeldi – Atlantic Coast leopard frog^[5]
• Rana kukunoris – plateau brown frog
• Rana kunyuensis
• Rana latastei – Italian agile frog, Lataste's frog
• Rana longicrus – Taipa frog
• Rana luteiventris – Columbia spotted frog
• Rana macrocnemis – long-legged wood frog, Caucasus frog, Turkish frog, Brusa frog
• Rana mortenseni
• Rana multidenticulata
• Rana muscosa – southern mountain yellow-legged frog
• Rana omeimontis – Omei brown frog, Omei wood frog
• Rana ornativentris – montane brown frog, Nikkō frog
• Rana pirica – Hokkaidō frog
• Rana pretiosa – Oregon spotted frog
• Rana pseudodalmatina
• Rana pueyoi
• Rana pyrenaica – Pyrenean frog, Pyrenees frog
• Rana sakuraii – stream brown frog, Napparagawa frog
• Rana sauteri – Sauter's brown frog, Kanshirei village frog, Taiwan groove-toed frog, Taiwan pseudotorrent frog
• Rana shuchinae – Sichuan frog
• Rana sierrae – Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog, Sierra Nevada Mountain yellow-legged frog
• Rana tagoi – Tago's brown frog
• Rana temporaria – common frog, European common frog, European common brown frog
• Rana tlaloci – Tlaloc's leopard frog
• Rana tsushimensis – Tsushima brown frog, Tsushima leopard frog
• Rana weiningensis
• Rana zhengi
• Rana zhenhaiensis – Zhenhai brown frog
• Rana sp. 'Okinawa' – Ryūkyū brown frog, Okinawa frog

The revision of Rana by Yuan et al. (2016) includes the following species, arranged in subgenera:^[4] (This taxonomy has been adopted by AmphibiaWeb, available at http://amphibiaweb.org/, an online compendium of amphibian names and information.)

Subgenus Aquarana (North American Water Frogs)

• Rana catesbeiana Shaw, 1802 – American bullfrog
• Rana clamitans Latreille, 1801 – green frog, bronze frog, northern green frog
• Rana grylio Stejneger, 1901 – pig frog
• Rana heckscheri Wright, 1924 – river frog
• Rana okaloosae Moler, 1985 – Florida bog frog
• Rana septentrionalis Baird, 1854 – mink frog
• Rana virgatipes Cope, 1891 – carpenter frog

Subgenus Amerana (Pacific Brown Frogs)

• Rana aurora – northern red-legged frog
• Rana boylii – foothill yellow-legged frog
• Rana cascadae – Cascades frog
• Rana draytonii – California red-legged frog
• Rana luteiventris – Columbia spotted frog
• Rana muscosa – southern mountain yellow-legged frog
• Rana pretiosa – Oregon spotted frog
• Rana sierrae – Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog, Sierra Nevada Mountain yellow-legged frog

Subgenus Lithobates (Neotropical true frogs)

• Rana bwana Hillis and de Sá, 1988 – Rio Chipillico frog
• Rana juliani Hillis and de Sá, 1988 – Maya Mountains frog
• Rana maculata Brocchi, 1877
• Rana palmipes Spix, 1824 – Amazon River frog
• Rana vaillanti Brocchi, 1877 – Vaillant's frog
• Rana vibicaria (Cope, 1894)
• Rana warszewitschii Schmidt, 1857

Subgenus Pantherana (Leopard, Pickerel, and Gopher frogs)

• Rana areolata Baird and Girard, 1852 – crawfish frog
• Rana berlandieri Baird, 1859 – Rio Grande leopard frog
• Rana blairi Mecham, Littlejohn, Oldham, Brown, and Brown, 1973 – Plains leopard frog
• Rana brownorum Sanders, 1973 – Gulf Coast leopard frog
• Rana capito LeConte, 1855 – Carolina gopher frog
• Rana chichicuahutla Cuellar, Méndez-De La Cruz, and Villagrán-Santa Cruz, 1996
• Rana chiricahuensis Platz and Mecham, 1979 – Chiricahua leopard frog
• Rana dunni Zweifel, 1957 – Lake Patzcuaro frog
• Rana fisheri Stejneger, 1893 – Mogollon Rim leopard frog
• Rana forreri Boulenger, 1883 – Forrer's leopard frog
• Rana kauffeldi Feinberg et al., 2014 – Atlantic Coast leopard frog
• Rana lemosespinali Smith and Chiszar, 2003
• Rana macroglossa Brocchi, 1877
• Rana magnaocularis Frost and Bagnara, 1974
• Rana megapoda Taylor, 1942
• Rana miadis Barbour and Loveridge, 1929
• Rana montezumae Baird, 1854
• Rana neovolcanica Hillis and Frost, 1985
• Rana omiltemana Günther, 1900
• Rana onca Cope, 1875 – Relict leopard frog
• Rana palustris LeConte, 1825 – Pickerel frog
• Rana pipiens Schreber, 1782 – Northern leopard frog
• Rana sevosa Goin and Netting, 1940 – Dusky gopher frog
• Rana spectabilis Hillis and Frost, 1985 – Brilliant leopard frog
• Rana sphenocephala Cope, 1886 – Southern leopard frog
• Rana taylori Smith, 1959 – Peralta frog
• Rana tlaloci Hillis and Frost, 1985 – Tlaloc's leopard frog
• Rana yavapaiensis Platz and Frost, 1984 – Lowland leopard frog

Subgenus Pseudorana (Weining Brown Frog)

• Rana weiningensis

Subgenus Rana (Eurasian Brown frogs)

• Rana amurensis – Siberian tree frog, Siberian wood frog, Amur brown frog
• Rana arvalis – moor frog
• Rana asiatica – Central Asiatic frog, Asian frog
• Rana camerani – long-legged wood frog
• Rana chaochiaoensis – Chaochiao frog
• Rana chensinensis – Asiatic grass frog, Chinese brown frog
• Rana chevronta – chevron-spotted brown frog
• Rana coreana – Korean brown frog
• Rana dalmatina – agile frog
• Rana dybowskii – Dybowski's frog
• Rana graeca – Greek stream frog, Greek frog
• Rana hanluica
• Rana holtzi – long-legged wood frog
• Rana huanrenensis – Huanren frog
• Rana iberica – Iberian frog
• Rana italica – Italian stream frog
• Rana japonica – Japanese brown frog
• Rana johnsi – Johns' groove-toed frog
• Rana kukunoris – plateau brown frog
• Rana kunyuensis
• Rana latastei – Italian agile frog, Lataste's frog
• Rana longicrus – Taipa frog
• Rana macrocnemis – long-legged wood frog, Caucasus frog, Turkish frog, Brusa frog
• Rana mortenseni
• Rana multidenticulata
• Rana omeimontis – Omei brown frog, Omei wood frog
• Rana ornativentris – montane brown frog, Nikkō frog
• Rana pirica – Hokkaidō frog
• Rana pseudodalmatina
• Rana pueyoi
• Rana pyrenaica – Pyrenean frog, Pyrenees frog
• Rana sakuraii – stream brown frog, Napparagawa frog
• Rana sauteri – Sauter's brown frog, Kanshirei village frog, Taiwan groove-toed frog, Taiwan pseudotorrent frog
• Rana shuchinae – Sichuan frog
• Rana tagoi – Tago's brown frog
• Rana temporaria – common frog, European common frog, European common brown frog
• Rana tsushimensis – Tsushima brown frog, Tsushima leopard frog
• Rana zhengi
• Rana zhenhaiensis – Zhenhai brown frog

Subgenus Zweifelia (Mexican Torrent Frogs)

• Rana johni Blair, 1965
• Rana psilonota Webb, 2001
• Rana pueblae Zweifel, 1955
• Rana pustulosa Boulenger, 1883
• Rana sierramadrensis Taylor, 1939
• Rana tarahumarae Boulenger, 1917 – Tarahumara frog
• Rana zweifeli Hillis, Frost, and Webb, 1984 – Zweifel's frog

Incertae sedis (no assigned subgenus)

• Rana sylvatica LeConte, 1825 – wood frog

Notes on other taxonomic arrangements:

The harpist brown frog (also known as 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.^[6]

Footnotes

1. Cai et al. (2007), Stuart (2008)
2. Lithobates, American Museum of Natural History.
3. Hillis & Wilcox (2005), Hillis (2007), Stuart (2008), Pauly et al. (2009)
4. 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. doi:10.1093/sysbio/syw055.
5. Feinberg JA, Newman CE, Watkins-Colwell GJ, Schlesinger MD, Zarate B, Curry BR, Bradley Shaffer HB, Burger J. (2014). Cryptic Diversity in Metropolis: Confirmation of a New Leopard Frog Species (Anura: Ranidae) from New York City and Surrounding Atlantic Coast Regions. PLoS ONE 9(10): e108213. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0108213
6. Matsui (2007)

References

• 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. Zootaxa 1531: 49–55. PDF abstract and first page text
• Dubois, A. & Ohler, A. (1995) Frogs of the subgenus Pelophylax (Amphibia, Anura, genus Rana): a catalogue of available and valid scientific names, with comments on the name-bearing types, complete synonymies, proposed common names, and maps showing all type localities. In: Ogielska, M. (ed.): II International Symposium on Ecology and Genetics of European water frogs, 18–25 September 1994, Wroclaw, Poland. Zoologica Poloniae 39(3-4): 139-204
• Frost, Darrel R. (2006): Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 4, 2006-AUG-17.
• Hillis, D. M. (2007) Constraints in naming parts of the Tree of Life. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 42: 331–338. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2006.08.001 PDF fulltext
• Hillis, D. M. & Wilcox, T. P. (2005): Phylogeny of the New World true frogs (Rana). Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 34(2): 299–314. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2004.10.007 PDF fulltext
• Matsui, Masafumi (2007): Unmasking Rana okinavana Boettger, 1895 from the Ryukyus, Japan (Amphibia: Anura: Ranidae). Zool. Sci. 24: 199–204. doi:10.2108/zsj.24.199 (HTML abstract)
• Pauly, Greg B., Hillis, David M. & Cannatella, David C. (2009): Taxonomic freedom and the role of official lists of species names. Herpetologica 65: 115-128. PDF fulltext
• Stuart, Bryan L. (2008): The phylogenetic problem of Huia (Amphibia: Ranidae). Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 46(1): 49-60. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2007.09.016 (HTML abstract)
• Yuan, Z.-Y., W.-W. Zhou, X. Chen, N. A. Poyarkov, H.-M. Chen, N.-H. Jang-Liaw, W.-H. Chou, K. Iizuka, M.-S. Min, S. L. Kuzmin, Y.-P. Zhang, D. C. Cannatella, D. M. Hillis, & J. Che. (2016): Spatiotemporal diversification of the true frogs (genus Rana): A historical framework for a widely studied group of model organisms. Systematic Biology doi:10.1093/sysbio/syw055

External links

• AmphibiaWeb
• Amphibian and Reptiles of Peninsular Malaysia