''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 species, but taxonomic revision resulted in a major change in the contents of the genus, and today it is recognised as containing just four species.

Description

''Hylarana'' are small to large-sized frogs. Males have an average snout-vent length of , while females range from . The nares (nostrils) are oval in shape and covered by a flap of skin. The tympanum is visible but is not covered by a supratympanic fold. Vomerine teeth and a pineal ocellus (parietal eye) are present. The toes are webbed, but the fingers are not.

Distribution

Former members of the genus ''Hylarana'' ranged from

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

to the Western Ghats of India, through Nepal and southern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and Taiwan, down to Southeast Asia to the Philippines and Papua New Guinea, in Northern Australia, and tropical Africa. Following taxonomic revisions, the genus is actually restricted to Southern and southeast Asia.

Taxonomy

''Hylarana'' belongs to the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Raninae True frogs is the common name for the frog family Ranidae. They have the widest distribution of any frog family. They are abundant throughout most of the world, occurring on all continents except Antarctica. The true frogs are present in North A ...

of the true frog family Ranidae. The generic name ''Hylarana'' derives from New Latin ('wood' or 'forest') and ('frog'). ''Hylarana'' was previously considered to be 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 the genus ''

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 recognized as a distinct genus in 2005. Several genera were further split from ''Hylarana'' in 2006, and then treated again as

junior synonym The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linna ...

s of ''Hylarana''. In 2015, Oliver et al. performed a major taxonomic re-assessment of ''Hylarana''. Their taxonomic reassessment left just four of the former 80–100 species within the genus ''Hylarana

sensu stricto ''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 ...

''. The rest were transferred to ''

Abavorana ''Abavorana'' is a genus of true frogs found in Southeast Asia, namely the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo. Species in this genus were formerly classified in the genus ''Hylarana ''Hylarana'', commonly known as golden-backed frogs, is a ...

Amnirana ''Amnirana'' is a genus of frogs in the family Ranidae, "true frogs". The genus is primarily found in Sub-Saharan Africa, but one species occurs in parts of southern and southeastern Asia. Some of the African species are widespread but contain u ...

Chalcorana ''Chalcorana'' is a genus of frogs in the family Ranidae, "true frogs". They are found in Southeast Asia, from Thailand to Malay Peninsula and the Sunda Islands. Taxonomy ''Chalcorana'' was originally introduced as a subgenus of ''Rana''. It wa ...

Humerana ''Humerana'' is a genus of frogs in the family Ranidae from southern and southeastern Asia. It was originally proposed as a subgenus of ''Rana''. It may belong to ''Hylarana''. ''Humerana'' contains the following species: * '' Humerana humerali ...

, Hydrophylax,

Indosylvirana ''Indosylvirana'' is a genus of ranid frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' ...

Papurana ''Papurana'' is a genus of frogs in the family Ranidae, "true frogs". They are known from Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and northern Australia. ''Papurana daemeli'' is the only Ranidae, ranid frog found in Australia. Taxonomy ''Papurana'' was orig ...

Pulchrana ''Pulchrana'' is a genus of ranid frogs found in south-eastern Asia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Species The following species are recognised in the genus ''Pulchrana'': * '' Pulchrana banjarana'' (Leong and Lim, 2003) * '' Pulchrana barami ...

'', and ''

Sylvirana ''Sylvirana'' is a genus of true frogs, family Ranidae, found in South and East Asia, from northeastern India in west to China in the north, Taiwan in the east, and Thailand in the south. Originally proposed as a subgenus of ''Rana'' in 1992, it ...

''.

Species

Formerly, the genus consisted of around 84 to 96 valid species. Following a major re-classification, only four species are now recognised in the genus ''Hylarana'': *''

Hylarana erythraea The common green frog (''Hylarana erythraea'') is a frog species of in the true frog family (biology), family Ranidae; some sources still use the old name ''Rana erythraea''. It lives in Southeast Asia and is also known as green paddy frog, red-e ...

'' (Schlegel, 1837) - common green frog, green paddy frog, leaf frog, or red-eared frog *''

Hylarana macrodactyla ''Hylarana macrodactyla'' is a species of frog in the family Ranidae. It is also known as the Guangdong frog, three-striped grass frog and the marbled slender frog. It is found in Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, ...

'' Günther, 1858 - Guangdong frog, three-striped grass frog, or marbled slender frog *''

Hylarana taipehensis ''Hylarana taipehensis'' is a species of "true frog", family Ranidae. It has several common names, including Taipei frog, Taipei grass frog, two-striped grass frog, or striped slender frog. Following its redelimitation in 2019, its range is now ...

'' (Van Denburgh, 1909) - two-striped grass frog *''

Hylarana tytleri ''Hylarana tytleri'' is a frog species in the family Ranidae. It is found in eastern and northeastern India, Bangladesh, and southern Nepal, and possibly at lower elevations in Bhutan. It was formerly placed in ''Rana'', and included in t ...

'' Theobald, 1868 Following this revision, the genus assignment of several ''Hylarana'' species is now uncertain: *'' "Hylarana" chitwanensis'' (Das, 1998) *'' "Hylarana" garoensis'' (Boulenger, 1920) *'' "Hylarana" latouchii'' (Boulenger, 1899) *'' "Hylarana" margariana'' Anderson, 1879 *'' "Hylarana" montivaga'' (Smith, 1921) *'' "Hylarana" persimilis'' (Van Kampen, 1923)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1998042 Amphibian genera Amphibians of Asia True frogs Taxa named by Johann Jakob von Tschudi

Description

Distribution

Taxonomy

Species

See also

References