Scientific Name of Frog

Scientific name of the frog is Anura. It is derived from a Latin word that loosely translates into “jump”. The scientific name of the frog consists of two words; one is the genus name and another is the species name. The method used in the scientific naming of frogs is based on the guidelines issued by the ICZN which follows the rules laid for the process of biological nomenclature.

Scientific Classification of Frog

Frogs are scientifically classified into:

Classification Category	Name
Domain	Eukaryota
Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Amphibia
Order	Anura

This order Anura has around 7,600 species.

Family of Frog

Frogs are classified into three suborder; Archaeobatrachia, Mesobatrachia, and Neobatrachia. These three suborder are further divided into following families;

1. Ascaphidae (Tailed frogs)
2. Bombinatoridae (Fire-belly toads)
3. Alytidae (Painted frogs)
4. Leiopelmatidae (New Zealand primitive frogs)
5. Megophryidae (Short-legged toads)
6. Pelobatidae (European spadefoot toads)
7. Pelodytidae (Parsley frogs)
8. Pipidae (Clawed frogs)
9. Rhinophrynidae (Mexican burrowing toad)
10. Scaphiopodidae (American spadefoot toads)
11. Allophrynidae (Tukeit Hill frog)
12. Amphignathodontidae (Marsupial frogs)
13. Arthroleptidae (Screeching frogs)
14. Brachycephalidae (Saddleback toads)
15. Brevicipitidae (Rain frogs)
16. Bufonidae (True toads)
17. Centrolenidae (Glass frogs)
18. Dendrobatidae (Poison dart frogs)
19. Dicroglossidae (Forked-tongue frogs)
20. Eleutherodactylidae (Rain frogs)
21. Heleophrynidae (Ghost frogs)
22. Hemiphractidae (Horned treefrogs)
23. Hemisotidae (Shovelnose frogs)
24. Hylidae (Tree frogs)
25. Hyperoliidae (Sedge frogs)
26. Leptodactylidae (Tropical frogs)
27. Mantellidae (Mantella frog)
28. Micrixalidae (Dancing frogs)
29. Microhylidae (Narrow-mouthed frogs)
30. Myobatrachidae (Australian ground frogs)
31. Nyctibatrachidae (Night frogs)
32. Ranidae (True frogs)
33. Ranixalidae (Leaping frogs)
34. Rhacophoridae (Moss frogs)
35. Rhinodermatidae (Darwin’s frogs)
36. Sooglossidae (Seychelles frogs)

Characteristics of Frog

Following are some of the common characteristics of frogs;

1. They are usually harmless and silent animals.
2. They are very agile and excellent jumpers.
3. They are very good swimmers also.
4. They are carnivorous (mostly insectivorous).
5. They are incapable of chewing so they directly swallow.
6. They catch their prey with the help of their elastic sticky tongue that can extend up to a great length.
7. They are mostly found near water bodies or damp areas and rarely on land.
8. They spend most of their time in water to keep their body moist and to perform cutaneous respiration.
9. They perform external reproduction i.e. the eggs and sperm are released in water for fertilization.
10. The embryonic development of their young ones takes place in water.
11. After hatching their young ones are called tadpoles.
12. Tadpoles lack legs and have very rudimentary lungs. Instead, they have a tail, small finn like structure, and gills.
13. The tadpoles undergo metamorphosis to become adult frogs where they lose their tail, fins, and grows legs and the lungs develops. However, the gills remain after metamorphosis.

Frog Scientific Name Genus and Species

There are many species of frogs that have different names. However, here only a few are listed:

Common Name	Scientific Name	Genus	Species
Common Indian bullfrog	Hoplobatrachus tigerinus (previously Rana tigrina)	Hoplobatrachus (Rana)	tigerinus (tigrina)
American Bullfrog	Lithobates catesbeianus	Lithobates	catesbeianus
Poison Dart frog	Dendrobates auratus	Dendrobates	auratus
Wood frog	Lithobates sylvaticus	Lithobates	sylvaticus
European fire-bellied frog	Bombina bombina	Bombina	bombina
Common toad	Bufo bufo	Bufo	bufo
Common tree toad	Polypedates leucomystax	Polypedates	leucomystax
Common green frog	Rana clamitans	Rana	clamitans
Indian tree frog	Polypedates maculatus	Polypedates	maculatus
Common frog	Rana temporaria	Rana	temporaria

Scientific Name of Indian Frog

The main species of frog that is found most common in India is the Common Indian bullfrog i.e. Hoplobatrachus tigerinus. It belongs to the family of Dicroglossidae. This species is common to the tropical region of the South and Southeast Asia and some parts of Europe and even America. Earlier this species was named Rana tigrina and was placed in the family Ranidae by François-Marie Daudin in 1802. However, in 1992 Alain Dubois transferred it to the genus Hoplobatrachus.

Common Name of Frog

All the amphibians that belong to the order Anura or modern frog, and other fossilized species are commonly named as Salientia that in latin translates into “salire” which means “salio” or “to jump”. Salientia is a clade that belongs to the superorder Batrachia. However, in common English these species of amphibians are collectively called as “frogs”, “Caecilian”, “Croaker”, “Polliwog”, etc.

Importance of Frog

Following are some of the importance of frogs;

1. Frogs are widely studied in laboratories as a model species of vertebrates.
2. They are widely used in pharmacological studies.
3. They are a source of food for many communities.
4. They are a source of poison and medicine for many communities.
5. They are widely used as fish bait.
6. They are the main source of food for snakes, mongoose, turtles, etc.
7. They are hosts for many parasites like Opalina, Nyctotherus, Balantidium, etc.
8. They feed on insects and women keeping their population in check.
9. They are reared on farms for food as well as an organic mode of pest removal.
10. Frog tadpoles are used to remove the larvae of disease-causing mosquitoes and other insects from water bodies.
11. They are a very important ecological indicator for subtle environmental changes and damages.

FAQs on Scientific Name of Frog

1. What is the Scientific Name of Frog?

The scientific name of frog is Anura. Anura consists of all the frogs that are collective called modern frogs. Anura is actually the order that falls under the class Amphibia.

2. Give the scientific name of the largest species of Frog.

The scientific name of the largest species of frog is Conraua goliath commonly known as goliath frog which is around 32 cm in length and is found in the region of Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.

3. What is the Scientific name of the Indian Frog?

The scientific name of common Indian bull frog is Hoplobatrachus tigerinus which belongs to the family of Dicroglossidae. Earlier this species was name as Rana tigrina that was placed in the Ranidae family.

4. Which is the Most common Indian Frog?

The most common Indian frog is the Indian bull frog that bears the scientific name of Hoplobatrachus tigerinus. This species was earlier known as the Rana tigrina, however, in 1992 it was transferred to the genus Hoplobactrachus.

5. Name some Common species of Indian Frog.

Some common species of India Frog are; Indian Bullfrog (Hoplobatrachus tigerinus), Annandale’s Paa Frog (Nanorana annandalii), Himalaya Paa Frog (Nanorana vicina), Dudhwa Reed Frog (Chiromantis dudhwaensis), etc.