The Pipidae are a family of primitive, tongueless frogs. The 30 species in the family Pipidae are found in tropical South America (genus Pipa) and sub-Saharan Africa (four other genera).
These frogs are exclusively aquatic and have numerous morphological modifications befitting their habitat. For example, the feet are completely webbed, the body is flattened, and a lateral line system is present. In addition, pipids possess highly modified ears for producing and receiving sound underwater. They lack a tongue or vocal cords, instead having bony rods in the larynx that help produce sound. They range from 4 to 19 cm (1.6 to 7.5 in) in body length.
The fossil record for pipids is relatively good, with 12 extinct species known. Six of these are placed in the extant genus Xenopus, the remainder in extinct genera. These fossils are known from Africa, South America, and the Middle East back to the Lower Cretaceous.
Family Pipidae
I woke up one morning heard a robin's song.
I asked that robin "Why do you sing?"
"It was a voice whose rhymes are worlds
That made my song for me
How could I not sing?"
I woke up on morning heard a robins song
I asked that robin "Who made your throat?"
"That same hand that flies a million dawns
Made my tiny throat and wrote my songs
How could I not sing?"
I built an arbor and I asked the vine
"How come you grow so tall?"
"If I can make it above the wall
That same hand that holds out hope for all
Will gild me in the morning sky
And though I cannot sing
That hand a gentle wind will bring
And make a rustling lullaby
For milky sleeping babes
How could I not grow?"
I woke up one morning and I asked the sky
"How can you bear such emptiness?"
"For that bright eye that looks out and smiles
And makes my night her day
What would I not bear?"
I woke up one morning and I heard her voice
She called me by my name
What would I not give
To be called her child
What would I not give
To be called her friend
I'm gonna wake up one morning I'm gonna see her face
Smiling down on me
That robin's song and that morning sky
Are all the hope I need
I don't know how and I don't know why
But I'm gonna wake up one morning and I'll see her face
Smiling Down on me
I'm gonna wake up one morning
I'm gonna wake up one morning