AmphibiaWeb - Ptychadenidae
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(Translations may not be accurate.)

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 AmphibiaWeb

Notable 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.
Ptychadenidae Richness map

Cartography Credit: Zoe Yoo, UC Berkeley
Range maps sources: AmphibiaWeb, UC Berkeley, and IUCN RedList

Relevant 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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