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Pipidae - tongueless frogs

African Clawed FrogThere are 32 species of aquatic frogs in this family. They are found in South America and Sub-Saharan Africa.

They have webbed feet, no tongue, and claws on one or more of their toes! The frogs in this family rarely come out of the water! They even have a special adaptation in their ears that allow them to hear under water.

Just like fish, the frogs in this family have a lateral line on the sides of their body that helps them sense motion in the water!

The African clawed frog has been introduced in North America. Populations of African clawed frogs have been reported in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. They were used in human pregnancy tests in the 1940s and 1950s. When a female African clawed frogs is injected with the urine of a pregnant woman, she begins laying eggs. When better techniques were discovered for determining if a woman was pregnant, the African clawed frogs were released into the wild. They were also introduced when people who kept them as pets released them, or when they escaped.

World Status Key
Least ConcernLeast Concern Near ThreatenedNear Threatened VulnerableVulnerable EndangeredEndangered Critically EndangeredCritically Endangered extinct in the wildExtinct in Wild extinctExtinct
Status and range is taken from ICUN Redlist. If no status is listed, there is not enough data to establish status.

US Status Key
Threatened in US Threatened in US Threatened in New Hampshire Threatened in NH Endangered in US Endangered in US Endangered in NH Endangered in NH Introduced Introduced
Status taken from US Fish and Wildlife and NH Fish and Game

  New Hampshire Species

 

  North/Central American Species

None   African Clawed Frog - Xenopus laevis Least Concern Introduced
Myers' Surinam Toad - Pipa myersi Endangered
Surinam Toad - Pipa pipa Least Concern

Other Species Around the World

Africa Africa Asia Asia Australia Australia/Oceania Europe Europe North America North America South AmericaSouth America New Hampshire Species NH Species

Congo Dwarf Clawed Frog - Hymenochirus boettgeri Least Concern Africa
Eastern Dwarf Clawed Frog - Hymenochirus boulengeri Africa
Western Dwarf Clawed Frog - Hymenochirus curtipes Least Concern Africa
Gaboon Dwarf Clawed Frog - Hymenochirus feae Africa
Arrabal's Surinam Toad - Pipa arrabali Least Concern South America
Albina Surinam Toad - Pipa aspera Least Concern South America
Carvalho's Surinam Toad - Pipa carvalhoi Least Concern South America
Myers' Surinam Toad - Pipa myersi Endangered North America
Rana De Celdillas Zuliana - Pipa parva Least Concern South America
Surinam Toad - Pipa pipa Least Concern North America South America
Utinga Surinam Toad - Pipa snethlageae Least Concern South America
Melin's Dwarf Gray Frog - Pseudhymenochirus merlini Least Concern Africa
Cameroon Clawed Frog - Silurana epitropicalis Least Concern Africa
Tropical Clawed Frog - Silurana tropicalis Least Concern Africa
Volcano Clawed Frog - Xenopus amieti Near Threatened Africa
Andre's Clawed Frog - Xenopus andrei Least Concern Africa

  Marsabit Clawed Frog - Xenopus borealis Least Concern Africa
Mawa Clawed Frog - Xenopus boumbaensis Africa
Peracca's Clawed Frog - Xenopus clivii Least Concern Africa
Fraser's Clawed Frog - Xenopus fraseri Least Concern Africa
Gill's Platanna - Xenopus gilli Endangered Africa
Itombwe Massif Clawed Frog - Xenopus itombwensis Critically Endangered Africa
African Clawed Frog - Xenopus laevis Least Concern Africa
Largen's Clawed Frog - Xenopus largeni Africa
Lake Oku Clawed Frog - Xenopus longipes Critically Endangered Africa
Muller's Platanna - Xenopus muelleri Least Concern Africa
Peters' Platanna - Xenopus petersii Least Concern Africa
Bouchia Clawed Frog - Xenopus pygmaeus Least Concern Africa
Uganda Clawed Frog - Xenopus ruwenzoriensis Africa
Kivu Clawed Frog - Xenopus vestitus Least Concern Africa
Mwanza Frog - Xenopus victorianus Least Concern Africa
De Witte's Clawed Frog - Xenopus wittei Least Concern Africa
 

Additional Information

Key: profile Profile Photos Photos Video Video Audio Audio

African Clawed Frog - Xenopus laevis profile Photos Least Concern Africa
African clawed frogs live in warm, stagnant grassland ponds as well as in streams in arid and semi-arid regions.
Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience:General Reading Level: Middle School

African Clawed Frog - Xenopus laevis profile Least Concern Africa
African clawed frogs have the ability to change their appearance to match their background.
Source: National Zoo Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

African Clawed Frog - Xenopus laevis profile Photos Least Concern Africa
The African clawed frog is the vertebrate most widely used for developmental, cell, and molecular biology research.
Source: Colombia University Intended Audience: General Reading Level: High School

Arrabal's Surinam Toad - Pipa arrabali profile Photos Least Concern South America
Arrabal's Surinam toad is found in eastern Venezuela, Guyana, Surinam, and northern and central Brazil.
Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Bouchia Clawed Frog - Xenopus pygmaeus profile Least Concern Africa
The Bouchia clawed frog is found in the Central African Republic, Congo, and Uganda.
Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Carvalho's Surinam Toad - Pipa carvalhoi profile Photos Least Concern South America
Carvalho's Surinam Toad is found in Brazil.
Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School

Congo Dwarf Clawed Frog - Hymenochirus boettgeri profile Photos Least Concern Africa
The Congo dwarf clawed frog is found in Cameroon, Central African Republic, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon,and Nigeria.
Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School

De Witte's Clawed Frog - Xenopus wittei profile Least Concern Africa
De Witte's clawed frog is found in The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda.
Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School

Fraser's Clawed Frog - Xenopus fraseri profile Photos Least Concern Africa
Fraser's clawed frog is found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon.
Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School

Gill's Platanna - Xenopus gilli Photos Endangered Africa
Gill's platanna is also known as the Cape platanna.
Source: Arkive Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Gill's Platanna - Xenopus gilli profile Endangered Africa
Gill's platanna is found in in the highly acidic black lakes found in the Cape Floral Kingdom of South Africa.
Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School

Itombwe Massif Clawed Frog - Xenopus itombwensis Photos Critically Endangered Africa
The Itombwe Massif clawed frog is found in The Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Source: Arkive Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Kivu Clawed Frog - Xenopus vestitus profile Least Concern Africa
The Kivu clawed frog is found in the mountains in The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda.
Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School

Lake Oku Clawed Frog - Xenopus longipes profile Photos Critically Endangered Africa
The Lake Oku clawed frog is only found in Lake Oku on Mount Oku in western Cameroon.
Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School

Lake Oku Clawed Frog - Xenopus longipes Photos Critically Endangered Africa
The Lake Oku clawed frog is also known as the Savannah clawed frog.
Source: Arkive Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Lake Oku Clawed Frog - Xenopus longipes profile Photos Critically Endangered Africa
The Lake Oku clawed frog has 12 sets of chromosomes. Most other species have two sets of chromosomes.
Source: EDGE Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Largen's Clawed Frog - Xenopus largeni profile Africa
Largen's clawed frog is only found in two sites in the mountains east of the Rift Valley in Ethiopia.
Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School

Marsabit Clawed Frog - Xenopus borealis profile Photos Least Concern Africa
The Marsabit clawed frog is found in Kenya and Tanzania.
Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School

Mawa Clawed Frog - Xenopus boumbaensis profile Africa
The Mawa clawed frog is found in Cameroon.
Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School

Muller's Platanna - Xenopus muelleri profile Photos Least Concern Africa
The Muller's platanna is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School

Mwanza Frog - Xenopus victorianus profile Photos Least Concern Africa
The Mwanza frog is found in Burundi, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School

Myers' Surinam Toad - Pipa myersi profile Endangered North America
Myers' Surinam toad is found in Panama.
Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School

Myers' Surinam Toad - Pipa myersi profile Photos Endangered North America
Myers' Surinam toad splays its limbs out to its sides when it is in a resting position.
Source: EDGE Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School

Peracca's Clawed Frog - Xenopus clivii profile Least Concern Africa
Peracca's clawed frog is found in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Sudan.
Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School

Peters' Platanna - Xenopus petersii profile Photos Least Concern Africa
Peters' platanna is found in Angola, Botswana, Congo, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School

Rana De Celdillas Zuliana - Pipa parva Least Concern South America
Rana De Celdillas Zuliana is found in Colombia, and Venezuela.
Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School

Surinam Toad - Pipa pipa Photos Video Least Concern North America South America
The Surinam toad is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.
Source: Arkive Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Surinam Toad - Pipa pipa profile Photos Video Least Concern North America South America
The Surinam toad lives in murky ponds and swamps.

Source: Animal Diversity Web Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Surinam Toad - Pipa pipa profile Photos Least Concern North America South America
The Surinam toad female carries her eggs on her back.
Source: Honolulu Zoo Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School

Surinam Toad - Pipa pipa profile Photos Least Concern North America South America
The Surinam toad has a large triangular head and a flat brown body.
Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School

Uganda Clawed Frog - Xenopus ruwenzoriensis profile Africa
The Uganda clawed frog is found in Uganda.
Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School

Utinga Surinam Toad - Pipa snethlageae profile Least Concern South America
The Utinga Surinam toad is found in Brazil, Colombia, and Peru.
Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School

Volcano Clawed Frog - Xenopus amieti profile Photos Near Threatened Africa
The volcano clawed frog is found in Cameroon.
Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School

Western Dwarf Clawed Frog - Hymenochirus curtipes profile Photos Least Concern Africa
The western dwarf clawed frog is found in Congo, and The Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Source: Amphibiweb Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School