Rana basaltica
species of amphibian
Rana basaltica is an extinct species of frog from Middle Miocene of China. It is known from the Shanwang formation beds in the Shanwang National Geological Park, Shandong Province, China.
Taxonomy
Rana basaltica was described by C.C. Young in 1936 based on a single specimen. Although not explicitly designated as the holotype, this specimen is the holotype by monotypy. However, no information where it was deposited was given, and the holotype is now considered lost. Moreover, the description was cursory, and the name has even been considered a nomen dubium. Therefore, Roček and colleagues designated a neotype for Rana basaltica in 2011. This specimen (IVPP V11706) originates from the same fossil locality and bed, fits the diagnosis, and is preserved similarly to Young's original specimen.
Description
Rana basaltica measured 29–46 mm (1.1–1.8 in) in snout–vent length. The skull is somewhat shorter than it is wide and is nearly triangular in shape.
The public source identifies “Rana basaltica” as species of amphibian. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Rana, basaltica and species.
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Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7290671. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1936 and 2011.
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This entry incorporates text from “Rana basaltica” 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.