rani-, ran- + (Latin: frog or frogs)
frog, frogs; toad, toads
frog, frogs (FRAWG, FRAHG; FRAWGZ)
Any of various small, tailess amphibians, having a smooth, moist, scaleless skin and powerful web-footed hind legs for leaping and swimming; and they are more aquatic and more agile than a toad: "Frogs and toads both hatch from eggs as tadpoles and live in the water until they grow their legs."
"A frog species (Psyllophrne didactyla), discovered in Cuba in 1996, is so tiny that it can sit comfortably on a human fingernail."
—This paragraph is based on information from
Scientific American Science Desk Reference; John Wiley & Sons, Inc. publisher;
1999; page 392.
toad, toads (TOHD, TOHDZ)
Members of numerous small, tailess amphibians similar to frogs, that have a broader body and rough or warty, glandular skin, hatch in water, but later live mostly on land; usually in moist habitats: "Our biology teacher taught us that toads and frogs have similar characteristics but that they are also quite different."
"Toads feed on small invertebrates or animals that don't have a backbone; such as, worms and insects."
"Toads have relatively short hind legs used for hopping, and they often have swellings containing glands that secrete an irritating fluid for defense purposes and they are terrestrial or semiterrestrial in habit."
Both frogs and toads have inconsistent common meanings. Anura is the order of amphibians that contains the frogs and the toads. Their eggs (spawn) are covered with jelly, are laid in water, and hatch into aquatic larvae (tadpoles), which undergo a rapid and extensive metamorphosis in which the tail is absorbed and the gill slits are replaced by lungs. Most frogs (for example, Rana) live in damp places or are aquatic; some are arboreal. Toads (for example, Bufo) are better adapted to drier habitats.
—The content in this section is based on information from
The Facts on File Dictionary of Biology by Robert Hine;
Facts On File, Inc.; 2005; page 24.
rana
Frog, literally, "croaker, crier".
ranaphilia
A special fondness for frogs.
ranarian
Frog-like; froggy.
ranarium (s), ranaria (pl)
A place, or places, for raising frogs or where they are kept.
ranid
1. A frog of the family Ranidae, which includes typical amphibious frogs.
2. Of, pertaining to, or designating a frog of the family Ranidae.
3. The true frog, insectivorous usually semiaquatic web-footed amphibian with smooth moist skin and long hind legs.
Ranidae
In vertebrate zoology, the riparian frogs, a family of the order Anura containing about 600 species of moderate-sized to large frogs; nearly worldwide in distribution.
raniform
Shaped like a frog.
ranine: frog, frogs
1. Pertaining to a frog; frog-like.
2. In antomy, a reference to the region under the tip of the tongue.
raninian
Pertaining to the Raninidae, an order of frog-crabs.
ranivore
A creature that consumes (eats) frogs.
ranivory
The eating of frogs; frog-eating.
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