Ranidae

Ranidae

[′ran·ə‚dē]

(vertebrate zoology)

A family of frogs in the suborder Diplasiocoela including the large, widespread genus Rana.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Ranidae

 

a family of tailless amphibians, distributed everywhere except South America, southern Australia, and New Zealand. There are six subfamilies: Arthroleptinae, Astylosterninae, Phrynopsinae, Raninae, Petropedetinae, and Cornuferinae. The subfamily Raninae comprises seven genera, the most common being Rana, which has approximately 200 species.

The Rana are characterized by a notch on the free back portion of the tongue and by well-developed swimming membranes on the hind legs. The largest species are the bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) and the Goliath frog (R. goliath). In the USSR there are 11 species of the genus Rana, including R. ridibunda, R. esculenta, R. nigromaculata, R. temporaria, R. terrestris, R. macrocnemis, R. camerani, and R. chensinensis. Among the above-mentioned species are both land and water inhabitants. Aquatic species predominantly are green, while terrestrial species are primarily grey-brown or brown in color. Large species have tasty meat and are used as food in many countries.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.