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Glite Dictionary
Pipidae

Pipidae

9.9
A family of water frogs without tongues found in Africa and South America
  • noun
  • /ˈpɪpɪˌdeɪ/
  • Specialized
: Pipidae
  • Members of the Pipidae family are fully aquatic and lack tongues.

Examples

  • The African clawed frog, a well-known amphibian, belongs to the Pipidae.

  • The Pipidae family includes species like the Surinam toad.

  • Researchers study Pipidae because of their unique evolutionary adaptations among frogs.

  • Many Pipidae frogs are known for their unique reproductive methods.

  • The Pipidae family contains several species that spend their entire lives in water.

  • Scientists have discovered that Pipidae frogs have developed specialized skin to absorb oxygen.

  • In habitats across sub-Saharan Africa, various Pipidae species thrive in aquatic environments.

Surface Forms

Pipidae singular
Pipidaes plural

Morphology

Pipidae = Pipa (opaque) = Pipa + idae

The taxonomic suffix '-idae' is a specialized scientific formation; knowing 'Pipa' does not make the family-level meaning obvious to an average B1 learner.

Etymology

Pipidae comes from the frog name Pipa, as in the Surinam toad Pipa pipa, plus the ending -idae which means 'family' in animal names. So Pipidae is the family name for those unusual, fully aquatic frogs that do not have a tongue.