Search tool	Example of search string in box	What that means to the database
* = "wildcard". Allows a partial letter string to be entered and implies either no or various extension on this letter string	Hyl*	Will find all uses of "Hyl . . ." anywhere in a record: e.g., Hylarana, Hyla, Hylidae, Hylinae, Hylaedactyla.
* = "wildcard". Allows a partial letter string to be entered and implies either no or various extension on this letter string	*Hyla	Will find all uses of ". . . hyla" anywhere in a record: e.g., Hyla, Hylidae, Plectrohyla, Ptychadena hylaea, Adenomera hylaedactyla
	Hyla	Will find all records that contain stand-alone uses of Hyla: e.g., Hyla, Hyla arenicolor
Strings of words without quotation marks	Lithobates pipiens	Interprets this as "Lithobates OR pipiens" so will find the union of all records that contain either "Lithobates" or "pipiens": e.g., Lithobates omiltemanus, Hylorana pipiens
Strings of word with quotation marks	"Lithobates pipiens"	Interprets this as "Lithobates AND pipiens" so will return all records that have the character string "Lithobates pipiens" anywhere within a record: e.g., all members of the Lithobates pipiens complex.
AND statement. Means that the results of the search must include both words held together by an AND	Lithobates AND pipiens	Same as "Lithobates pipiens"
OR statement. Means that the results of the search will all records that have either of the terms held together by an OR	Lithobates OR "Costa Rica"	Recovers all records that contain the word "Lithobates" or "Costa Rica": 402 records inasmuch as this will include all records for the entire amphibian fauna of Costa Rica
Combining Boolean operators within the Basic Search box (AND, OR, NOT, quotation marks)	Lithobates AND "Costa Rica" NOT forreri	Recovers only records that contain the word Lithobates AND "Costa Rica", but excludes any record that contains the word "forreri" in any part of the record: 9 records
Printable HELP file

Search tool	Example of search string in box	What that means to the database
* = "wildcard". Allows a partial letter string to be entered and implies either no or various extension on this letter string	Hyl*	Will find all uses of "Hyl . . ." anywhere in a record: e.g., Hylarana, Hyla, Hylidae, Hylinae, Hylaedactyla.
* = "wildcard". Allows a partial letter string to be entered and implies either no or various extension on this letter string	*Hyla	Will find all uses of ". . . hyla" anywhere in a record: e.g., Hyla, Hylidae, Plectrohyla, Ptychadena hylaea, Adenomera hylaedactyla
Single word	Hyla	Will find all records that contain stand-alone uses of Hyla: e.g., Hyla, Hyla arenicolor
Strings of words without quotation marks	Lithobates pipiens	Interprets this as "Lithobates OR pipiens" so will find the union of all records that contain either "Lithobates" or "pipiens": e.g., Lithobates omiltemanus, Hylorana pipiens
Strings of word with quotation marks	"Lithobates pipiens"	Interprets this as "Lithobates AND pipiens" so will return all records that have the character string "Lithobates pipiens" anywhere within a record: e.g., all members of the Lithobates pipiens complex.
AND statement. Means that the results of the search must include both words held together by an AND	Lithobates AND pipiens	Same as "Lithobates pipiens"
OR statement. Means that the results of the search will all records that have either of the terms held together by an OR	Lithobates OR "Costa Rica"	Recovers all records that contain the word "Lithobates" or "Costa Rica": 402 records inasmuch as this will include all records for the entire amphibian fauna of Costa Rica
Combining Boolean operators within the Basic Search box (AND, OR, NOT, quotation marks)	Lithobates AND "Costa Rica" NOT forreri	Recovers only records that contain the word Lithobates AND "Costa Rica", but excludes any record that contains the word "forreri" in any part of the record: 9 records
Printable HELP file

Hemisus Günther, 1859

Class: Amphibia > Order: Anura > Family: Hemisotidae > Genus: Hemisus

9 species

Hemisus Günther, 1859 "1858", Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus.: 47. Type Species: Engystoma guttatum Rapp, 1842, by monotypy.

Kakophrynus Steindachner, 1863, Sitzungsber. Akad. Wiss. Wien, Phys. Math. Naturwiss. Kl., 48: 191. Type species: Kakophrynus sudanensis Steindachner, 1863, by monotypy. Synonymy by Steindachner, 1864, Verh. Zool. Bot. Ges. Wien, 14: 284; Peters, 1882, Naturwiss. Reise Mossambique, Zool. 3: 173; Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 178.

Cacophrynus — Cope, 1867, J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, Ser. 2, 6: 199. Incorrect subsequent spelling of Kakophrynus Steindachner, 1863.

Common Names

Shovel-nosed Frogs (Van Dijk, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 17: 16; Passmore and Carruthers, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 6; Passmore and Carruthers, 1979, S. Afr. Frogs: 210; Du Preez and Carruthers, 2009, Compl. Guide Frogs S. Afr.: 214).

Shovel-snouted Frogs (Broadley, 1971, Puku, 6: 119; Van Dijk, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 17: 16)

Pig-nosed Frogs (Van Dijk, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 17: 16).

Shovelnose Frogs (Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 51).

Snout-burrowers (Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 119; Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 124).

Piglet Frogs (Channing and Rödel, 2019, Field Guide Frogs & Other Amph. Afr.: 112).

Distribution

Tropical and subtropical Africa south of the Sahara.

Comment

See Laurent, 1972, Ann. Mus. R. Afr. Cent., Tervuren, Ser. Octavo, Sci. Zool., 194: 1-67, for the most recent revision of this genus. See Poynton, 1978, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 19: 8, and Frost and Savage, 1987, J. Herpetol. Assoc. Afr., 33: 24, for nomenclature; Hemisus, although linguistically neuter in gender must be treated as if it were masculine for reason of Article 30.1.3 of ICZN, 1999, Internatl. Code Zool. Nomencl., Ed. 4: 35. Channing, 2001, Amph. Cent. S. Afr.: 119-120, provided a key to the species of southern Africa. Channing and Howell, 2006, Amph. E. Afr.: 124-125, provided a key and accounts for East Africa. Du Preez and Carruthers, 2009, Compl. Guide Frogs S. Afr.: 214-221, provided a key and accounts for the species of southern Africa. Du Preez and Carruthers, 2017, Frogs S. Afr., Compl. Guide: 230–237, provided accounts for southern African species, including polygon range maps, photographs, identification features, adult and larval morphology, habitats, and calls. Channing and Rödel, 2019, Field Guide Frogs & Other Amph. Afr.: 112–115, provided brief accounts, photographs, and range maps for the species.

Contained taxa (9 sp.):

Hemisus barotseensis Channing and Broadley, 2002

Hemisus brachydactylus Laurent, 1963

Hemisus guineensis Cope, 1865

Hemisus guttatus (Rapp, 1842)

Hemisus marmoratus (Peters, 1854)

Hemisus microscaphus Laurent, 1972

Hemisus olivaceus Laurent, 1963

Hemisus perreti Laurent, 1972

Hemisus wittei Laurent, 1963

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