Papurana facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Papurana
Papurana waliesa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Anura
Family:	Ranidae
Genus:	Papurana Dubois [fr], 1992
Type species
Rana papua Lesson, 1830
Synonyms
Tylerana Dubois, 1992

Papurana is a group of frogs. They are part of the Ranidae family, also known as "true frogs." You can find them in New Guinea and nearby islands. They also live in northern Australia. Papurana daemeli is the only true frog species living in Australia.

How Scientists Classify Papurana

Scientists group living things into categories. This helps them understand how different animals are related. At first, Papurana was a smaller group, or subgenus, within the Rana frog family. Later, it was sometimes placed as a subgenus of Hylarana. In 2015, a group of scientists led by Oliver studied Hylarana frogs. They decided that Hylarana should only include a few species. Because of this, Papurana became its own separate group, or genus.

What Papurana Frogs Look Like

Papurana frogs have a special "mask" mark behind their eyes. Their bodies have a certain shape. They also have strong, wavy stripes on the backs of their thighs. These frogs usually have no folds on their backs, or only very thin ones. Their skin can be rough or warty, sometimes with small spikes. Papurana frogs can be medium-sized to very large. Male frogs have two external sacs that help them make sounds.

Species of Papurana Frogs

There are 18 known species in the Papurana genus:

Papurana florensis is provisionally placed in this genus.

Some species, like Papurana elberti, Papurana florensis, and Papurana moluccana, are "provisionally allocated." This means scientists are still collecting more information about their bodies and genes. They want to be sure these frogs belong in the Papurana group.

See also

In Spanish: Papurana para niños