clawed frog

clawed frog

also called  African Clawed Frog  
 (genus Xenopus), any member of 6 to 14 species of tongueless, aquatic African frogs (family Pipidae) having small black claws on the inner three toes of the hind limbs.

      Xenopus species are generally dull-coloured. Their bodies are relatively flat and bear whitish fringelike mucus canals that serve as sensory organs. When feeding they hang just below the surface of stagnant or slow-flowing muddy waters with outspread forelimbs, waiting for prey to pass by. Because they are tongueless, they rely on the forelimbs to guide food to their mouths, with additional aid from the rapid forward thrust of their powerful hind limbs. Considered among the more primitive species of frogs, Xenopus species have a simple egg-laying strategy: eggs are scattered individually over submerged vegetation.

      Xenopus was once widely used for tests for human pregnancy because researchers found that young female clawed frogs would lay eggs when injected with minute quantities of a human hormone found in the urine of pregnant women. Though other types of pregnancy tests have since proved more reliable, Xenopus is still used in embryological and anatomical research.

      One of the more important species is the platanna (X. laevis) of southern Africa, a smooth-skinned frog about 13 cm (5 inches) long. It is a valuable mosquito control because it eats the eggs and young of these insects. Native to sub-Saharan Africa, X. laevis was introduced to the United States and Britain.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • clawed frog — см. Приложение 1 (Xenopus laevis). (Источник: «Англо русский толковый словарь генетических терминов». Арефьев В.А., Лисовенко Л.А., Москва: Изд во ВНИРО, 1995 г.) …   Молекулярная биология и генетика. Толковый словарь.

  • clawed frog — noun or clawed toad : a frog (Xenopus laevis) of southern Africa that is much used in pregnancy tests see xenopus * * * clawed frog or clawed toad noun An African or S American aquatic frog having claws on three hind toes • • • Main Entry: ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • clawed frog — noun A group of aquatic carnivorous frogs in the Xenopus genus, which are very small and have small claws …   Wiktionary

  • clawed frog — Xenopus laevis …   Medical dictionary

  • African clawed frog — Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum …   Wikipedia

  • Lake Oku Clawed Frog — Taxobox name = Lake Oku Clawed Frog status = CR | status system = IUCN3.1 regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Amphibia ordo = Anura familia = Pipidae genus = Xenopus species = X. longipes binomial = Xenopus longipes binomial authority …   Wikipedia

  • Western clawed frog — Taxobox name = Western Clawed Frog image width = 240px image caption = regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Amphibia ordo = Anura familia = Pipidae subfamilia = Xenopodinae genus = Xenopus species = X. tropicalis binomial = Xenopus… …   Wikipedia

  • Eritrea Clawed Frog — Taxobox name = Eritrea Clawed Frog status = LC | status system = IUCN3.1 regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Amphibia ordo = Anura familia = Pipidae genus = Xenopus species = X. clivii binomial = Xenopus clivii binomial authority =… …   Wikipedia

  • Largen's Clawed Frog — Taxobox name = Largen s Clawed Frog status = DD | status system = IUCN3.1 regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Amphibia ordo = Anura familia = Pipidae genus = Xenopus species = X. largeni binomial = Xenopus largeni binomial authority =… …   Wikipedia

  • Cameroon Clawed Frog — Taxobox name = Cameroon Clawed Frog status = LC | status system = IUCN3.1 regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Amphibia ordo = Anura familia = Pipidae genus = Silurana species = S. epitropicalis binomial = Silurana epitropicalis binomial …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”