Petropedetidae
family of amphibians
The Petropedetidae are a family of frogs containing two genera and 11 species. They are found in sub-Saharan tropical Africa and are sometimes known under common name African torrent frogs.
They are inhabitants of the splash-water zone of clear-running streams predominantly in forests. Tadpoles are either semiterrestrial in the spray zone or fully aquatic in zones of the strongest currents. Some species guard their clutches. They are medium- to large-sized frogs (Arthroleptides and Petropedetes).
Taxonomy
The Petropedetidae are related to true frogs, family Ranidae, and have often been considered as a subfamily within a broadly defined Ranidae. However, they are now commonly treated as a family, although the genera included may differ between sources. In particular, Conraua is sometimes included in the Petropedetidae, instead of forming its own monogeneric family Conrauidae.
Genera
The two genera in the family are:
Arthroleptides Nieden, 1911 – African torrent frogs, three species
Petropedetes Reichenow, 1874 – African water frogs, nine species
Recognition of Arthroleptides as a genus separate from Petropedetes is relatively recent.
The public source identifies “Petropedetidae” as family of amphibians. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Petropedetidae, family and amphibians.
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This entry incorporates text from “Petropedetidae” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.