Pipidae Gray, 1825

Class: Amphibia > Order: Anura > Family: Pipidae
41 species

Piprina Gray, 1825, Ann. Philos., London, Ser. 2, 10: 214. Type genus: "Pipra Laurent" (= Pipa Laurenti, 1768). Incorrect original spelling.

Pipoidea — Fitzinger, 1826, Neue Class. Rept.: 37. Explicit family; Laurent, 1967, Acta Zool. Lilloana, 22: 207; Lynch, 1973, in Vial (ed.), Evol. Biol. Anurans: 162; Duellman, 1975, Occas. Pap. Mus. Nat. Hist. Univ. Kansas, 42: 5; Laurent, 1980 "1979", Bull. Soc. Zool. France, 104: 417.

Pipina — Gray, 1829, Isis von Oken, 22: 203; Bonaparte, 1832, Saggio Dist. Metod. Animal. Vert.: 10; Bonaparte, 1838, Nuovi Ann. Sci. Nat., Bologna, 1: 393; Bonaparte, 1839, Mem. Soc. Sci. Nat. Neuchâtel, 2: 16; Bonaparte, 1840, Nuovi Ann. Sci. Nat., Bologna, 4: 100 (p. 11 in offprint).

Piparia — Hemprich, 1829, Grundniss Naturgesch. Höhere Lehr., Ed. 2: xix.

Aglossa Wagler, 1830, Nat. Syst. Amph.: 131. Unavailable name for reason of not being based on a generic name, coined as a family for Pipa.

Aglossa Wiegmann, 1832, in Wiegmann and Ruthe (eds.), Handbuch der Zool., Amph.: 200. Explicit family for Pipa and Xenopus. Unavailable for reason of not being based on a generic name. 

Pipae — Tschudi, 1838, Classif. Batr.: 26.

Dactylethridae Hogg, 1838, Ann. Nat. Hist., London, 1: 152. Type genus: Dactylethra Cuvier, 1829. See comment.

Astrodactylidae Hogg, 1839, Mag. Nat. Hist., N.S., 3: 152. Type genus: Astrodactylus Hogg, 1838 (= Asterodactylus Wagler, 1827). Synonymy with Pipidae by Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 458.

Pipidae — Swainson, 1839, Nat. Hist. Fishes Amph. Rept., 2: 88.

Pipina — Bonaparte, 1840, Mem. Accad. Sci. Torino, Ser. 2, 2: 394.

Pipaeformes — Duméril and Bibron, 1841, Erp. Gen., 6: 761. Explicit family-group name.

Pipridae — Anonymous, 1842, Synops. Contents Brit. Mus., Ed. 44: 112. Presumed author is John Gray. Fouquette and Dubois, 2014, Checklist N.A. Amph. Rept.: 267, gave authorship to Gray, but it is unclear what the evidence is for this assignment, even if it is a reasonable assumption given the expertise available at the Natural History Museum, London, at the time. 

Xenopoda Fitzinger, 1843, Syst. Rept.: 33. Type genus: Xenopus Wagler, 1827.

Dactylethrina — Bonaparte, 1850, Conspect. Syst. Herpetol. Amph.: 1 p.

Pipadae — Hallowell, 1858 "1857", Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 9: 65.

Dactylethridae — Günther, 1859 "1858", Cat. Batr. Sal. Coll. Brit. Mus.: xvii.

Aglossa Leunis, 1860, Synops. Drei Naturr., Zool., Ed. 2: 335. Unavailable unranked taxon (below Family) to contain Pipa and Xenopus.

Xenopodes — Fitzinger, 1861 "1860", Sitzungsber. Akad. Wiss. Wien, Phys. Math. Naturwiss. Kl., 42: 416.

Pipoides — Bruch, 1862, Würzb. Naturwiss. Z., 3: 221.

Astrodactylae — Duméril, 1863, Mem. Soc. Imp. Sci. Nat. Cherbourg, 9: 300.

Dactyletridae — Hoffmann, 1878, in Bronn (ed.), Die Klassen und Ordnungen des Thier-Reichs, 6(2): 598. Incorrect subsequent spelling.

Pipiformes — Boulenger, 1882, Zool. Rec., 18: 13. Spelling correction.

Dactylethrae — Peters, 1882, Naturwiss. Reise Mossambique, Zool. 3: 179.

Dactylethrida — Knauer, 1878, Naturgesch. Lurche: 103.

Pipida — Knauer, 1878, Naturgesch. Lurche: 103.

Xenopidae — Cope, 1889, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 34: 248.

Aglossidae Sollas, 1906, Zool. Rec., 42: 37.

Xenopodidae — Bolkay, 1919, Glasn. Zemaljskog Muz. Bosni Hercegov., 31: 348.

Hymenochiridae Bolkay, 1919, Glasn. Zemaljskog Muz. Bosni Hercegov., 31: 348. Type genus: Hymenochirus Boulenger, 1896.

Pipidae — Bolkay, 1919, Glasn. Zemaljskog Muz. Bosni Hercegov., 31: 348.

Pipinae — Metcalf, 1923, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 120: 391.

Dactylethrinae — Metcalf, 1923, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 120: 391; Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021, Megataxa, 5: 129.

Xenopodinae — Metcalf, 1923, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus., 120: 391.

Xenopinae — Noble, 1931, Biol. Amph.: 489; Van Dijk, 1966, Ann. Natal Mus., 18: 248.

Siluraninae Cannatella and Trueb, 1988, Zool. J. Linn. Soc., 94: 32. Type genus: Silurana Gray, 1864.

Pipinomorpha Báez and Púgener, 2003, Zool. J. Linn. Soc., 139: 454. Unavailable unranked taxon, coined within the family-group to include Eoxenopoides (fossil) and Pipinae.

Xenopodinomorpha Báez and Púgener, 2003, Zool. J. Linn. Soc., 139: 454. Unavailable unranked taxon, coined within the family-group to include various fossil taxa and Xenopodinae (= Dactylethrinae).

Pipoidia — Dubois, 2005, Alytes, 23: 8. Epifamily.

Pipoidea — Dubois, 2005, Alytes, 23: 8. Superfamily.

Hymenochirini — Bewick, Chain, Heled, and Evans, 2012, Syst. Biol., 61: 913–926. Treatment as a tribe for Hymenochirus + Pseudhymenochirus.

Dactylethrini — Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021, Megataxa, 5: 129. Tribe. 

Common Names

Tongueless Frogs (Cochran, 1961, Living Amph. World: 49; Ananjeva, Borkin, Darevsky, and Orlov, 1988, Dict. Amph. Rept. Five Languages: 109; Hedges, Powell, Henderson, Hanson, and Murphy, 2019, Caribb. Herpetol., 67: 15). 

Clawed Frogs (Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 96).

Distribution

South America east of the Andes and in adjacent Panama; south of the Sahara in Africa.

Comment

See Dubois, 1985, Alytes, 4: 66 for nomenclature discussion. Gray, 1825, Ann. Philos., London, Ser. 2, 10: 214, originally named this group Piprina (an implicit subfamily) based on "Pipra Laurenti" (an incorrect subsequent spelling of Pipa Laurenti). Under the provisions of Article 35.d of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (1984) family-group names based on improperly formed type genera must be corrected (but see Art. 39). Lynch, 1973, in Vial (ed.), Evol. Biol. Anurans: 133–182; and Starrett, 1973, in Vial (ed.), Evol. Biol. Anurans: 252–271, placed this family phylogenetically near to Rhinophrynidae and Haas, 2003, Cladistics, 19: 23–89, considered them to be sister-taxa among living taxa. Cannatella and Trueb, 1988, Zool. J. Linn. Soc., 94: 1–38, recognized Siluraninae for Silurana. de Sá and Hillis, 1990, Mol. Biol. Evol., 7: 365–376, rejected the recognition of Siluraninae and placed Silurana in Xenopodinae. Báez and Púgener, 2003, Zool. J. Linn. Soc., 139: 439–476, discussed the phylogeny of the group, including relevant fossils. Frost, Grant, Faivovich, Bain, Haas, Haddad, de Sá, Channing, Wilkinson, Donnellan, Raxworthy, Campbell, Blotto, Moler, Drewes, Nussbaum, Lynch, Green, and Wheeler, 2006, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 297: 119, considered Pipidae to be the sister taxon of Rhinophrynidae and together the sister taxon of all frogs, excluding Leiopelmatidae and Ascaphidae, provided a taxonomic history and rejected existing subfamilies. Roelants, Gower, Wilkinson, Loader, Biju, Guillaume, Moriau, and Bossuyt, 2007, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 104: 887–892, on the basis of less inclusive sampling, a moderately different molecular dataset, and a different analytical method than Frost et al. (2006), found pipoids to be the sister taxon of all frogs, excluding Amphicoela (Leiopelmatidae + Ascaphide) and Costata (Alytidae + Bombinatoridae). Perret, 1966, Zool. Jahrb., Jena, Abt. Syst., 93: 289–464, provided a key to the species of Cameroun. Reumer and Graf, 1986, in Rocek (ed.), Studies in Herpetol.: 107–111, discussed aspects of the phylogeny of pipids. Reumer, 1985, Rev. Suisse Zool., 92: 969–980, diagnosed the Xenopus fraseri group and the Xenopus laevis group of species. Báez and Púgener, 2003, Zool. J. Linn. Soc., 139: 439–476, discussed evolution in this taxon. Evans, Kelley, Tinsley, Melnick, and Cannatella, 2004, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 33: 197–213, discussed phylogenetics of Xenopus and Silurana (now part of Xenopus) and noted at least one unnamed species of Silurana and two species of Xenopus. Evans, Kelley, Melnick, and Cannatella, 2005, Mol. Biol. Evol., 22: 1193–1207, discussed phylogeny and development of polyploid taxa in Silurana and Xenopus, on the basis of molecular evidence. Irisarri, Vences, San Mauro, Glaw, and Zardoya, 2011, BMC Evol. Biol., 11: e114, provided a molecular phylogeny of the family. Pyron and Wiens, 2011, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 61: 543–583, confirmed the placement of Pipidae as the sister taxon of Rhinophrynidae and provided a tree of their exemplar species. Blackburn and Wake, 2011, In Zhang (ed.), Zootaxa, 3148: 39–55, briefly reviewed the taxonomic history of this taxon. Irisarri, Vences, San Mauro, Glaw, and Zardoya, 2011, BMC Evol. Biol., 11(114): 1–10, reported on the phylogenetics of the genera within the taxon as well as the evolution of call characteristics. Bewick, Chain, Heled, and Evans, 2012, Syst. Biol., 61: 913–926, reported on molecular phylogenetics of the group. Vitt and Caldwell, 2014, Herpetology, 4th Ed., provided a summary of life history, diagnosis, and taxonomy. Channing, Rödel, and Channing, 2012, Tadpoles of Africa: 284–300, provided information on comparative larval morphology. Frétey, Dewynter, and Blanc, 2011, Clé de détermination, Amph. Afri. Centr. Angola: 1–232, provided a key for identification in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. Mezzasalma, Glaw, Odierna, Petraccioli, and Guarino, 2015, Zool. Anz., 258: 47–53, reported on the karyology of Pseudhymenochirus merlini and Hymenochirus boettgeri as part of a general discussion of karyological evolution in the family. Carvalho, Agnolin, Rolando, and Andrade, 2019, J. S. Am. Earth Sci., 92: 222–233, reported on the paleontology and phylogenetics of Pipimorpha. Blotto, Pereyra, Grant, and Faivovich, 2020, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 443: 32–33, discussed possible morphological synapmorphies for the group, particularly of hand and foot morphology. Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021, Megataxa, 5: 1–738, discussed nomenclature and systematics and recommended a system of subfamilies and tribes based on recovered relationships of Pipa + ((Hymenochirus + Pseudhymenochirus) + (Silurana + Xenopus)). Elias-Costa, Araujo-Vieira, and Faivovich, 2021, Cladistics, 37: 498–517, discussed the evolution of submandibular musculature optimized on the tree of Jetz and Pyron, 2018, Nature Ecol. & Evol., 2: 850–858, which provided morphological synapomorphies of this taxon. Barcelos and Santos, 2023, Paleodivers. Palaeoenvironm., 103: 341–405, reviewed the fossil localities and fossil history of this group in South America.   

Contained taxa (41 sp.):

Dactylethrinae Hogg, 1838 (34 sp.)
Pipinae Gray, 1825 (7 sp.)

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