African Clawed Frog

Open encyclopedia reference

The African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis), also known as simply xenopus, African clawed toad, African claw-toed frog or the platanna) is a species of African aquatic frog of the family Pipidae. Its name is derived from the short black claws on its feet. The word Xenopus means 'strange foot' and laevis means 'smooth'. The species is found throughout much of Sub-Saharan Africa (Nigeria and Sudan to South Africa), and in isolated, introduced populations in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. All species of the family Pipidae are tongueless, toothless and completely aquatic. They use their hands to shove food in their mouths and down their throats and a hyobranchial pump to draw or suck things in their mouth. Pipidae have powerful legs for swimming and lunging after food. They also use the claws on their feet to tear pieces of large food. They have no external eardrums, but instead subcutaneous cartilaginous disks that serve the same function. They use their sensitive fingers and sense of smell to find food.

Wikipedia contributors, African clawed frog; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:29:26.994318+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Xenopus laevis (Daudin, 1802)

Name authority

(Daudin, 1802)

Common name

African Clawed Frog

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Amphibia

Order

Anura

Family

Pipidae

Genus

Xenopus

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classAmphibia
9. orderAnura
10. familyPipidae Gray, 1825
11. subfamilyDactylethrinae Hogg, 1838
12. genusXenopus Wagler, 1827
13. speciesXenopus laevis (Daudin, 1802)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Xenopus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 37 records assigned to Pipidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=173549 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:5CBC9. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.