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Pipidae - tongueless frogs

There are 32 species of aquatic frogs in this family. They are found in South America and Sub-Saharan Africa.

They have webbed feet, no tongue, and claws on one or more of their toes! The frogs in this family rarely come out of the water! They even have a special adaptation in their ears that allow them to hear under water.

Just like fish, the frogs in this family have a lateral line on the sides of their body that helps them sense motion in the water!

The African clawed frog has been introduced in North America. Populations of African clawed frogs have been reported in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. They were used in human pregnancy tests in the 1940s and 1950s. When a female African clawed frogs is injected with the urine of a pregnant woman, she begins laying eggs. When better techniques were discovered for determining if a woman was pregnant, the African clawed frogs were released into the wild. They were also introduced when people who kept them as pets released them, or when they escaped.

World Status Key
Least Concern Near Threatened Vulnerable Endangered Critically Endangered Extinct in Wild Extinct
Status and range is taken from ICUN Redlist. If no status is listed, there is not enough data to establish status.

US Status Key
Threatened in US Threatened in NH Endangered in US Endangered in NH Introduced
Status taken from US Fish and Wildlife and NH Fish and Game

New Hampshire Species		North/Central American Species
None		African Clawed Frog - Xenopus laevis Myers' Surinam Toad - Pipa myersi Surinam Toad - Pipa pipa
Other Species Around the World
Africa Asia Australia/Oceania Europe North America South America NH Species
Congo Dwarf Clawed Frog - Hymenochirus boettgeri Eastern Dwarf Clawed Frog - Hymenochirus boulengeri Western Dwarf Clawed Frog - Hymenochirus curtipes Gaboon Dwarf Clawed Frog - Hymenochirus feae Arrabal's Surinam Toad - Pipa arrabali Albina Surinam Toad - Pipa aspera Carvalho's Surinam Toad - Pipa carvalhoi Myers' Surinam Toad - Pipa myersi Rana De Celdillas Zuliana - Pipa parva Surinam Toad - Pipa pipa Utinga Surinam Toad - Pipa snethlageae Melin's Dwarf Gray Frog - Pseudhymenochirus merlini Cameroon Clawed Frog - Silurana epitropicalis Tropical Clawed Frog - Silurana tropicalis Volcano Clawed Frog - Xenopus amieti Andre's Clawed Frog - Xenopus andrei		Marsabit Clawed Frog - Xenopus borealis Mawa Clawed Frog - Xenopus boumbaensis Peracca's Clawed Frog - Xenopus clivii Fraser's Clawed Frog - Xenopus fraseri Gill's Platanna - Xenopus gilli Itombwe Massif Clawed Frog - Xenopus itombwensis African Clawed Frog - Xenopus laevis Largen's Clawed Frog - Xenopus largeni Lake Oku Clawed Frog - Xenopus longipes Muller's Platanna - Xenopus muelleri Peters' Platanna - Xenopus petersii Bouchia Clawed Frog - Xenopus pygmaeus Uganda Clawed Frog - Xenopus ruwenzoriensis Kivu Clawed Frog - Xenopus vestitus Mwanza Frog - Xenopus victorianus De Witte's Clawed Frog - Xenopus wittei

Additional Information Key: Profile Photos Video Audio African Clawed Frog - Xenopus laevis African clawed frogs live in warm, stagnant grassland ponds as well as in streams in arid and semi-arid regions. Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience:General Reading Level: Middle School African Clawed Frog - Xenopus laevis African clawed frogs have the ability to change their appearance to match their background. Source: National Zoo Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School African Clawed Frog - Xenopus laevis The African clawed frog is the vertebrate most widely used for developmental, cell, and molecular biology research. Source: Colombia University Intended Audience: General Reading Level: High School Arrabal's Surinam Toad - Pipa arrabali Arrabal's Surinam toad is found in eastern Venezuela, Guyana, Surinam, and northern and central Brazil. Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School Bouchia Clawed Frog - Xenopus pygmaeus The Bouchia clawed frog is found in the Central African Republic, Congo, and Uganda. Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School Carvalho's Surinam Toad - Pipa carvalhoi Carvalho's Surinam Toad is found in Brazil. Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School Congo Dwarf Clawed Frog - Hymenochirus boettgeri The Congo dwarf clawed frog is found in Cameroon, Central African Republic, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon,and Nigeria. Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School De Witte's Clawed Frog - Xenopus wittei De Witte's clawed frog is found in The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda. Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School Fraser's Clawed Frog - Xenopus fraseri Fraser's clawed frog is found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon. Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School Gill's Platanna - Xenopus gilli Gill's platanna is also known as the Cape platanna. Source: Arkive Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School Gill's Platanna - Xenopus gilli Gill's platanna is found in in the highly acidic black lakes found in the Cape Floral Kingdom of South Africa. Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School Itombwe Massif Clawed Frog - Xenopus itombwensis The Itombwe Massif clawed frog is found in The Democratic Republic of the Congo. Source: Arkive Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School Kivu Clawed Frog - Xenopus vestitus The Kivu clawed frog is found in the mountains in The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda. Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School Lake Oku Clawed Frog - Xenopus longipes The Lake Oku clawed frog is only found in Lake Oku on Mount Oku in western Cameroon. Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School Lake Oku Clawed Frog - Xenopus longipes The Lake Oku clawed frog is also known as the Savannah clawed frog. Source: Arkive Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School Lake Oku Clawed Frog - Xenopus longipes The Lake Oku clawed frog has 12 sets of chromosomes. Most other species have two sets of chromosomes. Source: EDGE Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School Largen's Clawed Frog - Xenopus largeni Largen's clawed frog is only found in two sites in the mountains east of the Rift Valley in Ethiopia. Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School Marsabit Clawed Frog - Xenopus borealis The Marsabit clawed frog is found in Kenya and Tanzania. Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School Mawa Clawed Frog - Xenopus boumbaensis The Mawa clawed frog is found in Cameroon. Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School Muller's Platanna - Xenopus muelleri The Muller's platanna is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School Mwanza Frog - Xenopus victorianus The Mwanza frog is found in Burundi, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School Myers' Surinam Toad - Pipa myersi Myers' Surinam toad is found in Panama. Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School Myers' Surinam Toad - Pipa myersi Myers' Surinam toad splays its limbs out to its sides when it is in a resting position. Source: EDGE Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School Peracca's Clawed Frog - Xenopus clivii Peracca's clawed frog is found in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Sudan. Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School Peters' Platanna - Xenopus petersii Peters' platanna is found in Angola, Botswana, Congo, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School Rana De Celdillas Zuliana - Pipa parva Rana De Celdillas Zuliana is found in Colombia, and Venezuela. Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School Surinam Toad - Pipa pipa The Surinam toad is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. Source: Arkive Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School Surinam Toad - Pipa pipa The Surinam toad lives in murky ponds and swamps. Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School Surinam Toad - Pipa pipa The Surinam toad female carries her eggs on her back. Source: Honolulu Zoo Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School Surinam Toad - Pipa pipa The Surinam toad has a large triangular head and a flat brown body. Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School Uganda Clawed Frog - Xenopus ruwenzoriensis The Uganda clawed frog is found in Uganda. Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School Utinga Surinam Toad - Pipa snethlageae The Utinga Surinam toad is found in Brazil, Colombia, and Peru. Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School Volcano Clawed Frog - Xenopus amieti The volcano clawed frog is found in Cameroon. Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School Western Dwarf Clawed Frog - Hymenochirus curtipes The western dwarf clawed frog is found in Congo, and The Democratic Republic of the Congo. Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School

Pipidae - tongueless frogs

New Hampshire Species

North/Central American Species

Other Species Around the World

Additional Information

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