Ptychadenidae |  |
63 species in 3 genera
Commonly Called Grassland Frogs, Ridged Frogs
Ptychadena longirostris
Photo by Daniel Portik
(Click for family gallery)Members of this sub-Saharan African family was previously assigned to Ranidae until 2006 when they were designated a family (Frost et al. 2006), which has since been well established. Despite the ocean barriers to dispersal, two Ptychadena stand out; Ptychadena mascareniensis has naturally dispersed to Madagascar and Ptychadena newtoni is an island endemic frog in São Tomé island in the Gulf of Guinea. Most of these species occurs in grassland habitat, with some species known from lowland and montane forests. Most breed in rain-filled water bodies, lay eggs, which hatch into tadpoles. In general, these species are medium sized frogs with longitudinal stripes and/or ridges.
Written by AmphibiaWebNotable Family Characteristics
- Medium-sized frogs (40 - 60 mm snout-vent length), most with strong legs
- Habitat mainly savannah and grasslands with some species known from forests in lowland and montane regions
- Breeds in temporary water bodies, laying eggs that hatch into tadpoles
- Most species with longitudinal ridges or stripes
- Distribution limited to sub-Saharan Africa, except for Ptychadena mascareniensis, which has naturally dispersed to Madagascar and Ptychadena newtoni, which occurs in São Tomé and Príncipé in the Gulf of Guinea.
Cartography Credit: Zoe Yoo, UC Berkeley
Range maps sources: AmphibiaWeb, UC Berkeley, and IUCN RedListRelevant Reference
Drewes, R. and R. Stoelting. 2011. The California Academy of Sciences Gulf of Guinea Expedition (2001) II. Additions and Corrections to Our Knowledge of the Endemic Amphibians of São Tomé and Principe. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences. Vol 5(4):573-587.
Frost, D. R., T. Grant, J. Faivovich, R. H. Bain, A. Haas, C. F. B. Haddad, R. O. de Sá, A. Channing, M. Wilkinson, S. C. Donnellan, C. J. Raxworthy, J. A. Campbell, B. L. Blotto, P. E. Moler, R. C. Drewes, R. A. Nussbaum, J. D. Lynch, D. M. Green, and W. C. Wheeler. 2006. The amphibian tree of life. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 297: 1–370
Glaw, F., and Vences, M. (2007). Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar. Third Edition. Vences and Glaw Verlag, Köln.
Genus Hildebrandtia (3 species)
Hildebrandtia macrotympanum no account no photos no sound/video Hildebrandtia ornata account photos no sound/video Hildebrandtia ornatissima no account no photos no sound/video
Genus Lanzarana (1 species)
Lanzarana largeni no account no photos no sound/video
Genus Ptychadena (59 species)
Ptychadena aequiplicata no account photos no sound/video Ptychadena amharensis no account photos no sound/video Ptychadena anchietae no account photos no sound/video Ptychadena ansorgii no account no photos no sound/video Ptychadena arnei no account no photos no sound/video Ptychadena baroensis no account no photos no sound/video Ptychadena beka no account photos no sound/video Ptychadena bibroni account photos sound/video Ptychadena boettgeri no account no photos no sound/video Ptychadena broadleyi no account no photos no sound/video Ptychadena bunoderma no account no photos no sound/video Ptychadena christyi no account no photos no sound/video Ptychadena chrysogaster no account photos no sound/video Ptychadena cooperi no account photos no sound/video Ptychadena delphina no account photos no sound/video Ptychadena doro no account photos no sound/video Ptychadena erlangeri no account photos no sound/video Ptychadena filwoha no account no photos no sound/video Ptychadena gansi no account no photos no sound/video Ptychadena goweri no account photos no sound/video Ptychadena grandisonae no account no photos no sound/video Ptychadena guibei no account no photos no sound/video Ptychadena harenna no account photos no sound/video Ptychadena ingeri no account no photos no sound/video Ptychadena keilingi no account no photos no sound/video Ptychadena levenorum no account photos no sound/video Ptychadena longirostris account photos no sound/video Ptychadena mahnerti no account no photos no sound/video Ptychadena mapacha no account no photos no sound/video Ptychadena mascareniensis account photos no sound/video Ptychadena mossambica no account photos no sound/video Ptychadena mutinondoensis account photos no sound/video Ptychadena nana no account photos no sound/video Ptychadena neumanni no account no photos no sound/video Ptychadena newtoni account photos no sound/video Ptychadena nilotica no account photos no sound/video Ptychadena nuerensis no account no photos no sound/video Ptychadena obscura no account no photos no sound/video Ptychadena oxyrhynchus account photos no sound/video Ptychadena perplicata no account no photos no sound/video Ptychadena perreti no account no photos no sound/video Ptychadena porosissima no account photos no sound/video Ptychadena pujoli no account no photos no sound/video Ptychadena pumilio account photos sound/video Ptychadena retropunctata account no photos no sound/video Ptychadena robeensis account photos no sound/video Ptychadena schillukorum account no photos no sound/video Ptychadena stenocephala account no photos no sound/video Ptychadena straeleni no account no photos no sound/video Ptychadena submascareniensis account no photos no sound/video Ptychadena subpunctata no account photos no sound/video Ptychadena superciliaris no account no photos no sound/video Ptychadena taenioscelis no account photos no sound/video Ptychadena tellinii account photos sound/video Ptychadena tournieri account photos sound/video Ptychadena trinodis account photos sound/video Ptychadena upembae no account no photos no sound/video Ptychadena uzungwensis no account no photos no sound/video Ptychadena wadei no account no photos no sound/video
Citation: AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. [web application]. Berkeley, California: AmphibiaWeb. Available: https://amphibiaweb.org/. (Accessed:
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