''Amnirana'' is a genus of frogs in the family Ranidae, "true frogs". The genus is primarily found in

Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

, but one species occurs in parts of southern and southeastern Asia. Some of the African species are widespread but contain undescribed cryptic diversity. Most (but not all) species have a white upper lip, and the genus is sometimes known as the white-lipped frogs.

Taxonomy

''Amnirana'' was originally introduced as a

subgenus In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...

of ''

Rana Rana may refer to: Astronomy * Rana (crater), a crater on Mars * Delta Eridani or Rana, a star People, groups and titles * Rana (name), a given name and surname (including a list of people and characters with the name) * Rana (title), a histori ...

''. It was often included in the then-diverse genus ''

Hylarana ''Hylarana'', commonly known as golden-backed frogs, is a genus of true frogs found in tropical Asia. It was formerly considered highly diverse, containing around 84 to 96 Valid name (zoology), valid species, but taxonomic revision resulted in a ...

'', until Oliver and colleagues revised the genus in 2015, delimiting ''Hylarana'' more narrowly and elevating ''Amnirana'' to genus rank. Within the genus, '' Amnirana nicobariensis'' appears to be the

sister taxon In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and t ...

of the African

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

of species, but the data are inconclusive. With more data available to resolve possible non-molecular

synapomorphies In phylogenetics, an apomorphy (or derived trait) is a novel character or character state that has evolved from its ancestral form (or plesiomorphy). A synapomorphy is an apomorphy shared by two or more taxa and is therefore hypothesized to have ...

of the genus, ''A. nicobariensis'' might become recognized as a separate genus. A later study suggested it to be closer to other Asian ''Hylarana'' ''

sensu lato ''Sensu'' is a Latin word meaning "in the sense of". It is used in a number of fields including biology, geology, linguistics, semiotics, and law. Commonly it refers to how strictly or loosely an expression is used in describing any particular co ...

'' than to African ''Amnirana''.

Description

The current delimitation of ''Amnirana'' is primarily based on molecular evidence in combination with geography. No morphological diagnosis is available, and the genus shows variability in characteristics that have been suggested to have diagnostic value within the genus ''Hylarana'' ''sensu lato''. The body is robust and medium to very large in size. The dorsum is smooth to shagreened in texture and uniform to mottled in pattern. The upper lip is usually white, but it is dark in '' Amnirana lepus''. Males have paired

vocal sac The vocal sac is the flexible membrane of skin possessed by most male frogs and toads. The purpose of the vocal sac is usually as an amplification of their mating or advertisement call. The presence or development of the vocal sac is one way o ...

, which may be internal or protrude externally.

Species

There are 11 recognized species: In addition, the AmphibiaWeb recognizes ''Amnirana longipes'' as a valid species, whereas the Amphibian Species of the World, following Jongsma and colleagues, considers it

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

of ''Amnirana albolabris''. Nevertheless, the "true" species number is likely to be substantially higher, with molecular data suggesting at least seven new African species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q20722164 True frogs Amphibian genera Amphibians of Asia Amphibians of Sub-Saharan Africa