MEXICAN TAILLESS AMPHIBIANS 189 



Family RANIDAE Bonaparte 



1831. Ranidae Bonaparte, Giorn. Arcad. Sci. Lett, ed Arti, Roma, vol. 49, 

 pp. 65, 75. 



The members of the Ranidae have a wide distribution in temperate 

 and tropical regions, but are not foimd in Australia, Tasmania, New 

 Zealand, eastern Polynesia, or Hawaii. Frogs are generally thought 

 of as being largely aquatic, but there are some with large digital disks 

 that are arboreal in habit. Others, like the North American wood 

 frog {Rana sylvatica), prefer a land life and are generally found on the 

 ground in the woods. As ^vith the true tree frogs, there are a few 

 species that burrow in the ground. AU the Mexican species of the 

 genus Rana are more or less aquatic. One Mexican species, R. monte- 

 zumae, is commonly sold for food in the markets of Mexico City. 



The Ranidae have maxillary but no mandibular t«eth, a tirmi- 

 sternal type of shoulder girdle, cylindrical or slightly expanded sacral 

 diapophj-ses, and a biconvex sacral vertebra with double condyle for 

 the coccyx. The tongue of the ranids differs from the type found in 

 other families of tailless amphibians in that it is provided vrith. two 

 lateral posterior horns. In rare instances ranas have been found 

 with a nearly trilobed tongue. Frogs of the genus Oxyglossus have 

 a single median horn on the posterior free end of the tongue. 



Genus RANA Linnaeus 



1758. Rana Lixxaeus, Systema naturae, ed. 10, vol. 1, p. 210. [Genotype, 



[Rana] temporaria Lixxaetts, p. 212 (Europe); based upon Linnaeus, 1746, 



Fauna Svecica, p. 94.] 

 1814. Ranaria Rafixesque, Specchio Sci., Palermo, vol. 2, fasc. 7. [Substitute 



name for Ra7ia Linnaeus.] 

 1843. Pelophylax Fitzinger, Systema reptLlium, fasc. 1, p. 31. [Genotj-pe, 



Rana esculenta Linnaeus, 1758, Systema naturae, ed. 10, vol. 1, p. 212.] 

 1859. Ranula Peters, Monatsber. k. preuss. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, p. 402, May. 



[Genotype, Ranula gollmerii Peters, idem, p. 402 (Caracas. Venezuela).] 



1867. Pohlia Steindachner, Reise der Oesterreichischen Fregatt^ Novara, Zool- 

 ogischer theil, vol. 1, Amphibien, p. 15. [Genotype, Pohlia palmipes Stein- 

 dachner, idem, p. 15, pi. 1, figs. &-S — Rana palmipes Spix, 1824, Animalia 

 nova, sive species novae testudinum et ranarum quas in itinere per Bra- 

 siliam, etc., p. 5, pi. 5, fig. 1 (Amazon River, Brazil).] 



1868. Trypheropsis Cope, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 20, p. 117. 

 [Genotype, Trypheropsis chrysoprasinus Cove — Ranula chrysoprasina Cope, 

 1866, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 18, p. 129 (Arriba, Costa Rica).] 



1891. Crotaphitis Schulze, Jahresber. Naturw. Ver. Magdeburg, 1890, p. 176. 

 [Genotype, Rana temporaria Linnaeus.] 



1891. Baliopygus Schulze, Jahresber. Naturw. Ver, Magdeburg, 1890, p. 177. 

 [Genotype, [Rana] esculenta Linnaeus, 1758, Systema naturae, ed. 10, vol. 1, 

 p. 212; based upon " Ranae viridis aquaticae" Roesel von Rosenhop, 1758, 

 Historia naturalis ranarum nostralium, p. 53, pi. 13 (Europe).] 

 66785—32 13 



