Kingdom Animalia Scientific name Lithobates Higher classification True frog Rank Genus | Family Ranidae Mass American bullfrog: 51 g Phylum Chordata Order Frog | |
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Subgenus Lithobates (if not treated as genus, see text)
Fitzinger, 1843 Lower classifications American bullfrog, Wood frog, Chiricahua leopard frog, Lowland leopard frog, Vaillant's frog | ||
Lithobates is a subgenus or genus of true frogs, of the family Ranidae. The name is derived from litho- (stone) and the Greek bates (βάτης, one who treads), meaning who treads on rock or rock climber.
Contents
The name was defined by Hillis and Wilcox (2005) for a subgenus of four Central and South American frogs within the genus Rana: The subgenus was subsequently expanded to seven species in Central and South America in a systematic revision of the genus Rana. The name was previously used by Frost et al. as a separate genus of ranid frogs that included most of the North American frogs traditionally included in the genus Rana, including the American bullfrog and northern leopard frog. Frost used the name in this sense in the frog section of a North American common names list edited by Crother (2008). This proposed change has since been rejected by others, such as Stuart (2008), Pauly et al. (2009), AmphibiaWeb, and Yuan et al. (2016). AmphibiaWeb, available at http://amphibiaweb.org/, an online compendium of amphibian names, follows Yuan et al. (2016) in recognizing Lithobates as a subgenus. On the other hand, Amphibian Species of the World 6.0, an online reference, uses Lithobates as a genus. This definition is also followed by, e.g., the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles.
Northern leopard frog ranidae lithobates rana pipiens adult
Species
Following the narrowest definition of Lithobates as a subgenus (Neotropical true frogs), this taxon contains the following species:
Following the "Amphibian Species of the World", the genus Lithobates ([North] American water frogs, North American true frogs) contains the following species: