Pipimorpha is an unranked

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, ...

containing all

frogs A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...

which are more closely related to living

Pipidae The Pipidae are a family of primitive, tongueless frogs. The 41 species in the family Pipidae are found in tropical South America (genus ''Pipa'') and sub-Saharan Africa (the three other genera). Description Pipid frogs are highly aquatic and ...

species than to living ''

Rhinophrynus This frog belongs to the Family ''Rhinophrynidae'' and Genus Rhinophrynus. Rhinophrynus dorsalis is the only living representation of the family Rhinophrynidae. This family is also known as the burrowing toads, and is evidently a small and specia ...

'' species. Members of this group are highly adapted to aquatic life. The oldest pipimorphs are '' Neusibatrachus'' and '' Gracilibatrachus'' from the

Early Cretaceous The Early Cretaceous ( geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous (chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma. Geology Pro ...

of Spain, with other records of the group known from Afro-Arabia and South America like modern Pipidae. The extinct family

Palaeobatrachidae Palaeobatrachidae is an extinct family of frogs known from the Late Cretaceous to the Pleistocene primarily of Europe. They were highly adapted to aquatic life, like other members of the Pipimorpha. The oldest undoubted records of the family are ...

, particularly the genus ''

Palaeobatrachus ''Palaeobatrachus'' (meaning "ancient frog" in Greek) is an extinct genus of frogs from Europe that existed from the middle Eocene to the middle Pleistocene ( Ionian Stage) (621-568,000 years ago), spanning almost 50 million years. They were oblig ...

'' were widespread and abundant in Europe during the

Cenozoic The Cenozoic ( ; ) is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66million years of Earth's history. It is characterised by the dominance of mammals, birds and flowering plants, a cooling and drying climate, and the current configura ...

, until their extinction during the

Middle Pleistocene The Chibanian, widely known by its previous designation of Middle Pleistocene, is an age in the international geologic timescale or a stage in chronostratigraphy, being a division of the Pleistocene Epoch within the ongoing Quaternary Period. The ...

around 500,000 years ago due to being unable to cope with the increasing aridity and freezing temperatures of the ice ages.

Taxonomy

Genera are

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

unless otherwise noted Taxonomy after A. M. Aranciaga Rolando et al. 2019 * †'' Neusibatrachus'' Seiffert 1972 La Pedrera de Rúbies Formation, Spain, Early Cretaceous (

Barremian The Barremian is an age in the geologic timescale (or a chronostratigraphic stage) between 129.4 ± 1.5 Ma (million years ago) and 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma). It is a subdivision of the Early Cretaceous Epoch (or Lower Cretaceous Series). It is preceded ...

) * †'' Gracilibatrachus'' Baez 2013 Las Hoyas, Spain, Early Cretaceous (Barremian) * †'' Nevobatrachus'' Mahony, 2019 (=''Cordicephalus'' Nevo, 1968) Hatira Formation, Israel, Lower Cretaceous * †'' Thoraciliacus'' Nevo 1968 Hatira Formation, Israel, Lower Cretaceous * †'' Avitabatrachus'' Báez, Trueb & Calvo, 2000 Candeleros Formation, Late Cretaceous (

Cenomanian The Cenomanian is, in the ICS' geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or the lowest stage of the Upper Cretaceous Series. An age is a unit of geochronology; it is a unit of time; the stage is a unit in the s ...

) * †'' Vulcanobatrachus'' Trueb et al. 2005 South Africa, Late Cretaceous * †'' Cratopipa'' Carvalho et al., 2019

Crato Formation The Crato Formation is a geologic formation of Early Cretaceous ( Aptian) age in northeastern Brazil's Araripe Basin. It is an important Lagerstätte (undisturbed fossil accumulation) for palaeontologists. The strata were laid down mostly duri ...

, Brazil, Early Cretaceous (

Aptian The Aptian is an age in the geologic timescale or a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is a subdivision of the Early or Lower Cretaceous Epoch or Series and encompasses the time from 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma to 113.0 ± 1.0 Ma (million years ago), a ...

) * †

Europe, Late Cretaceous-

** †''

'' Tschudi, 1838 (13+ species) Europe, Middle Eocene-Middle Pleistocene ** †'' Albionbatrachus'' Meszoely, Špinar et Ford, 1984 (2 species) Europe, Eocene-

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

* Clade Panpipidae Aranciaga Rolando et al. 2019 ** †Clade Shelaniinae Aranciaga Rolando et al. 2019 *** †'' Patagopipa'' Aranciaga Rolando et al. 2019

Huitrera Formation The Huitrera Formation is a geological formation in the Neuquén Basin in northern Patagonian Argentina whose strata date back to the Early Eocene of the Paleogene, or Casamayoran in the South American land mammal age classification. Descriptio ...

, Argentina, Eocene *** †'' Kuruleufenia'' Gómez 2016

Allen Formation The Allen Formation is a geological formation in Argentina whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous (middle Campanian to early Maastrichtian.Salgado et al., 2007 Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formati ...

, Argentina, Late Cretaceous (

Campanian The Campanian is the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous Epoch on the geologic timescale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). In chronostratigraphy, it is the fifth of six stages in the Upper Cretaceous Series. Campanian s ...

Maastrichtian The Maastrichtian () is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the latest age (uppermost stage) of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series, the Cretaceous Period or System, and of the Mesozoic Era or Erathem. It spanned the interval from ...

) *** †'' Saltenia'' Reig 1959 Las Curtiembres Formation, Argentina, Late Cretaceous (Campanian) *** †'' Shelania'' Casamiquela 1960 Laguna del Hunco Formation, Argentina, Eocene **

Gray 1825 Africa, South America, Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) - Present

References

Mesobatrachia {{mesobatrachia-stub