Odorrana Explained
Odorrana, commonly known as odorous frogs, is a genus of true frogs (Ranidae) from East Asia and surrounding regions. Many of these frogs inhabit fast-flowing mountain streams, and they typically have a remarkably pointed snout, as evidenced by common names like tip-nosed frog and scientific names like nasica or nasutus ("with a nose").
Systematics and taxonomy
Odorrana has a confusing taxonomic and systematic history. Most species placed here were initially placed in Rana. Some were considered to belong in Amolops and Huia instead, and yet again others were separated as Eburana. The most extreme proposal was to merge Odorrana into Huia.[1]
In the early 21st century, molecular phylogenetic studies established that the systematic confusion was due to widespread convergent evolution between Amolops, Huia and Odorrana, which actually represent quite distinct lineages of Raninae. This necessitated some taxonomic changes, especially affecting Huia. It was also found that Odorrana is a rather close relative of Rana (which includes Lithobates nowadays) - possibly the most closely related living lineage. And while it is not completely certain that Odorrana is in fact a distinct genus, the available evidence points towards this being so.
Initial studies have revealed what seems to be several clades of Odorrana, which are sometimes considered subgenera. But few species have had their DNA sequence data sampled, and that the convergent evolution is liable to obscure relationships if assessed by morphology alone:
- A number of very basal species, including O. bacboensis, O. chapaensis, Ishikawa's Frog (O. ishikawae) and perhaps others do not seem to be particularly close to any of the larger groups or each other.
- A very robustly-supported clade containing the type species O. margaretae as well as at least O. andersonii, O. daorum O. grahami and O. hmongorum.
- A minor but quite distinct lineage containing O. absita, O. khalam and perhaps others. Namely O. hejiangensis and O. schmackeri might belong here, or represent another minor and distinct lineage.
- A large group, quite likely a clade, containing the Amami Tip-nosed Frog (O. amamiensis), O. banaorum, O. chloronota, Hose's Frog (O. hosii), O. livida, O. morafkai, O. megatympanum, the Ryukyu Tip-nosed Frog (O. narina), O. supranarina, O. swinhoana, O. tiannanensis, O. utsunomiyaorum and probably others. The specialized lineage encompassing the Long-snout Torrent Frog (O. nasica), the Concave-eared Torrent Frog (O. tormota), O. versabilis, and maybe some more species also belongs here.
Species
In addition, the Phu Luang cliff frog (presently Huia aureola) might belong in Odorrana too.
References
- (2007): Paraphyly of Chinese Amolops (Anura, Ranidae) and phylogenetic position of the rare Chinese frog, Amolops tormotus. Zootaxa 1531: 49–55. PDF fulltext
- (2008): The phylogenetic problem of Huia (Amphibia: Ranidae). Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 46(1): 49-60. PDF fulltext
Notes and References
- Cai et al. (2007), Stuart (2008)
- Liu. Xiaolong. He. Yanhong. Wang. Yufan. Beukema. Wouter. Hou. Shaobin. Li. Yingcun. Che. Jing. Yuan. Zhiyong. 2021-01-14. A new frog species of the genus Odorrana (Anura: Ranidae) from Yunnan, China. Zootaxa. en. 4908. 2. 263–275. 10.11646/zootaxa.4908.2.7. 33756625. 232338717. 1175-5334.
