Rana (genus)
Rana is a genus of frogs commonly known as the Holarctic true frogs, pond frogs or brown frogs. Members of this genus are found through much of Eurasia and western North America. Many other genera were formerly included here.
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" as 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.
Behavior
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 swallow anything they can fit into their mouths, including small vertebrates. Among their predators are egrets, crocodiles, and snakes.Systematics
Some 50 to 100 extant species are now placed in this genus by various authors; many other species formerly placed in Rana are now placed elsewhere. Frost restricted Rana to the Old World true frogs and the Eurasian brown and pond frogs of the common frog R. temporaria group, although other authors disagreed with this arrangement. In 2016, a consortium of Rana researchers from throughout Europe, Asia, and North America revised the group, and reported that the arrangement of Frost resulted in nonmonophyletic groups. Yuan et al. 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, Glandirana, Hydrophylax, Hylarana, Lithobates, Odorrana, Pelophylax, Pulchrana, Sanguirana, and Sylvirana. Of these, Odorrana and Lithobates are so closely related to Rana proper, they could conceivably be included here once again. The others seem to be far more distant relatives, in particular Pelophylax.
New species are still being described in some numbers. A number of extinct species are in the genus, including Rana basaltica, from Miocene deposits in China.
Species
The following species are recognised in the genus Rana:Rana amurensis - Siberian tree frog, Siberian wood frog, Amur brown frogRana arvalis - Moor frogRana asiatica - Central Asiatic frog, Asian frogRana aurora - Northern red-legged frogRana boylii - Foothill yellow-legged frogRana cascadae - Cascades frogRana chaochiaoensis - Chaochiao frogRana chensinensis - Asiatic grass frog, Chinese brown frogRana chevronta - Chevron-spotted brown frogRana coreana - Korean brown frogRana dalmatina - Agile frogRana draytonii - California red-legged frogRana dybowskii - Dybowski's frogRana graeca - Greek stream frog, Greek frogRana hanluicaRana huanrenensis - Huanren frogRana iberica - Iberian frogRana italica - Italian stream frogRana japonica - Japanese brown frogRana jiemuxiensis - Jiemuxi brown frogRana johnsi - Johns' groove-toed frogRana kobai - Ryukyu brown frogRana kukunoris - Plateau brown frogRana latastei - Italian agile frog, Lataste's frogRana longicrus - Taipa frogRana luanchuanensisRana luteiventris - Columbia spotted frogRana macrocnemis - Long-legged wood frog, Caucasus frog, Turkish frog, Brusa frogRana maoershanensisRana muscosa - Southern mountain yellow-legged frogRana matsuoi - Goto Tago’s brown frogRana nebaRana omeimontis – Omei brown frog, Omei wood frogRana ornativentris - Montane brown frog, Nikkō frogRana pirica - Hokkaidō frogRana pretiosa - Oregon spotted frogRana pseudodalmatinaRana pyrenaica - Pyrenean frog, Pyrenees frogRana sakuraii - Stream brown frog, Napparagawa frogRana sauteri - Sauter's brown frog, Kanshirei village frog, Taiwan groove-toed frog, Taiwan pseudotorrent frogRana sangzhiensis - Sangzhi frog, Sangzhi groove-toed frogRana shuchinae - Sichuan frogRana sierrae - Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog, Sierra Nevada Mountain yellow-legged frogRana tagoi - Tago's brown frogRana tavasensis - Tavas frogRana temporaria - Common frog, European common frog, European common brown frog, European grass frogRana tsushimensis - Tsushima brown frog, Tsushima leopard frogRana uenoiRana ulma - Okinawa frogRana zhengiRana zhenhaiensis - Zhenhai brown frog*Rana maoershanensis is likely not its own species, according to new genetic research.
The following fossil species are also known:
- †Rana architemporaria
- †Rana basaltica
- †?Rana hipparionum
- †Rana pliocenica
- †Rana muelleri
- †Rana strausi
- †?Rana yushensis
Alternative classifications
AmphibiaWeb includes the following species, arranged in subgenera:Subgenus Amerana Rana aurora - northern red-legged frogRana boylii - foothill yellow-legged frogRana cascadae - Cascades frogRana draytonii - California red-legged frogRana luteiventris - Columbia spotted frogRana muscosa - southern mountain yellow-legged frogRana pretiosa - Oregon spotted frogRana sierrae - Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog, Sierra Nevada Mountain yellow-legged frog
Subgenus Aquarana Rana catesbeiana Shaw, 1802 - American bullfrogRana clamitans Latreille, 1801 - green frog, bronze frog, northern green frogRana grylio Stejneger, 1901 - pig frogRana heckscheri Wright, 1924 - river frogRana okaloosae Moler, 1985 - Florida bog frogRana septentrionalis Baird, 1854 - mink frogRana virgatipes Cope, 1891 - carpenter frog
Subgenus Lithobates Rana bwana Hillis and de Sá, 1988 - Rio Chipillico frogRana juliani Hillis and de Sá, 1988 - Maya Mountains frogRana maculata Brocchi, 1877 Rana palmipes Spix, 1824 - Amazon River frogRana vaillanti Brocchi, 1877 - Vaillant's frogRana vibicaria Rana warszewitschii Schmidt, 1857
Subgenus LiuhuranaRana shuchinae Liu, 1950
Subgenus Pantherana Rana areolata Baird and Girard, 1852 - crawfish frogRana berlandieri Baird, 1859 - Rio Grande leopard frogRana blairi Mecham et al., 1973 - plains leopard frogRana brownorum Sanders, 1973 - Gulf Coast leopard frogRana capito LeConte, 1855 - Carolina gopher frogRana chichicuahutla Cuellar, Méndez-De La Cruz, and Villagrán-Santa Cruz, 1996 Rana chiricahuensis Platz and Mecham, 1979 - Chiricahua leopard frogRana dunni Zweifel, 1957 - Lake Patzcuaro frogRana fisheri Stejneger, 1893 - Mogollon Rim leopard frogRana forreri - Forrer's leopard frogRana kauffeldi Feinberg et al., 2014 - Atlantic Coast leopard frogRana lemosespinali Smith and Chiszar, 2003Rana lenca 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 frogRana palustris LeConte, 1825 - pickerel frogRana pipiens Schreber, 1782 - northern leopard frogRana sevosa Goin and Netting, 1940 - dusky gopher frogRana spectabilis Hillis and Frost, 1985 - brilliant leopard frogRana sphenocephala Cope, 1886 - southern leopard frogRana taylori Smith, 1959 - Peralta frogRana tlaloci Hillis and Frost, 1985 - Tlaloc's leopard frogRana yavapaiensis Platz and Frost, 1984 - lowland leopard frog
Subgenus Pseudorana Rana weiningensis
Subgenus Rana Rana amurensis - Siberian tree frog, Siberian wood frog, Amur brown frogRana arvalis - moor frogRana asiatica - Central Asiatic frog, Asian frogRana camerani - long-legged wood frogRana chaochiaoensis - Chaochiao frogRana chensinensis - Asiatic grass frog, Chinese brown frogRana chevronta - chevron-spotted brown frogRana coreana - Korean brown frogRana culaiensis - Culai brown frogRana dalmatina - agile frogRana dybowskii - Dybowski's frogRana graeca - Greek stream frog, Greek frogRana hanluicaRana holtzi - long-legged wood frogRana huanrenensis - Huanren frogRana iberica - Iberian frogRana italica - Italian stream frogRana japonica - Japanese brown frogRana jiemuxiensis - Jiemuxi brown frogRana johnsi - Johns' groove-toed frogRana kobai - Ryukyu brown frogRana kukunoris - plateau brown frogRana latastei - Italian agile frog, Lataste's frogRana longicrus - Taipa frogRana macrocnemis - long-legged wood frog, Caucasus frog, Turkish frog, Brusa frogRana maoershanensisRana nebaRana omeimontis – Omei brown frog, Omei wood frogRana ornativentris - montane brown frog, Nikkō frogRana pirica - Hokkaidō frogRana pseudodalmatinaRana pyrenaica - Pyrenean frog, Pyrenees frogRana sakuraii - stream brown frog, Napparagawa frogRana sangzhiensisRana sauteri - Sauter's brown frog, Kanshirei village frog, Taiwan groove-toed frog, Taiwan pseudotorrent frog Rana tagoi - Tago's brown frogRana tavasensis - Tavas brown frogRana temporaria - common frog, European common frog, European common brown frog, European grass frogRana tsushimensis - Tsushima brown frog, Tsushima leopard frogRana uenoiRana ulmaRana wuyiensis - Wuyi brown frogRana zhengiRana zhenhaiensis - Zhenhai brown frogRana zhijinensis Luo, Xiao & Zhou, 2022 - Zhijin brown frog
Subgenus Zweifelia Rana johni Blair, 1965Rana psilonota Webb, 2001 Rana pueblae Zweifel, 1955Rana pustulosa Rana sierramadrensis Taylor, 1939 Rana tarahumarae - Tarahumara frogRana zweifeli Hillis, Frost, and Webb, 1984 - Zweifel's frog
Incertae sedis Rana dabieshanensis Wang et al., 2017Rana luanchuanensis Zhao and Yuan, 2017Rana sylvatica LeConte, 1825 – wood frog
Notes on other taxonomic arrangements:
The harpist brown frog, 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.