Kassina are a genus of hyperoliid frogs, commonly referred to as running frogs. They are found throughout sub-Saharan Africa. They are characterized by preferring a distinctive "walking" with the back legs instead of the more traditional frog hopping.
Species
There are 13 recognized
species in the genus
Kassina:
- Ivory Coast Running Frog, ''Kassina arboricola (Perret, 1985)
- Silver Running Frog, Kassina cassinoides (Boulenger, 1903)
- Cochran’s Running Frog, Kassina cochranae (Loveridge, 1941)
- Brown Running Frog, Kassina fusca (Schiøtz, 1967)
- Kuvangu Running Frog, Kassina kuvangensis (Monard, 1937)
- Rainforest Running Frog, Kassina lamottei (Schiøtz, 1967)
- Red-legged Running Frog, Kassina maculata (Duméril, 1853)
- Parker’s Running Frog, Kassina maculifer (Ahl, 1924)
- Marbled Running Frog, Kassina maculosa (Sternfeld, 1917)
- Mertens’ Running Frog, Kassina mertensi (Laurent, 1952)
- Schiøtz's Running Frog, Kassina schioetzi (Rödel, Grafe, Rudolf & Ernst, 2002)
- Senegal Running Frog, Kassina senegalensis (Duméril & Bibron, 1841)
- Somalian Running Frog, Kassina somalica (Scortecci, 1932)
In captivity
K. maculata is frequently exported from
Tanzania for the exotic
pet trade.
Research
It is the source of "Kassinin", a frequently studied
tachykinin peptide.
References
External links
Hyperoliidae
Kassina