| Marsh frog | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Ranidae |
| Genus: | Pelophylax |
| Species: | P. ridibundus |
| Binomial name | |
| Pelophylax ridibundus (Pallas, 1771) | |
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| Distribution | |
| Synonyms | |
Rana ridibundaPallas, 1771 [2] | |
The marsh frog (Pelophylax ridibundus) is a species of water frog native to Europe and parts of western Asia. [3]
The marsh frog is the largest type of frog in most of its range, with males growing to a size around 100 mm (3.9 in) SVL and females slightly larger (4 in) SVL. [4] There is a large variation in colour and pattern, ranging from dark green to brown or grey, sometimes with some lighter green lines; a lighter line on the back is generally present. The frog will usually be darker coloured in early spring to absorb heat more efficiently.
Tadpoles can reach up to 190 mm (7.3 in) in length, [3] but this usually occurs in places with long winters where the tadpole has time to grow.
They occur in a large part of Europe starting from western France and spreading out into the Middle East and about a quarter into Russia. [3] There are also isolated populations in Saudi Arabia and the Russian Far East, along with some introduced populations in the United Kingdom and other places. [5]
These frogs are very lenient in their habitats, and are able to inhabit a majority of different types of water bodies. [3] Marsh frogs hibernate during the winter either underwater or in burrows, and are able to use the magnetic field of the Earth to locate breeding ponds. [6]
Adult marsh frogs have a large head that is able to devour a wide variety of prey, mostly arthropods and other invertebrates, as well as small fish, other amphibians (including conspecifics), reptiles, small birds, and rodents. [3] In an analysis of 53 adults in Thrace, flies made up 40% and beetles 20% of their diet. [7] These frogs have been found to climb onto water buffalo so they could eat the flies attracted to it, hinting at a possible mutualistic relationship. [8]
As tadpoles, they eat a wide range of organic matter including algae, detritus, decaying plants, invertebrates, and dead animals. [3]
There are known three hybridogenetic hybrids of the marsh frog:
Their populations are maintained however through other crossings by hybridogenesis. [10] In places where they were introduced, marsh frogs may pose a threat to the native Pelophylax by diluting the gene pool, but there is evidence that although they may hybridize they do not affect the overall population that greatly. [5] [11]
The edible frog is a hybrid species of common European frog, also known as the common water frog or green frog.
The European fire-bellied toad is a species of fire-bellied toad native to eastern parts of mainland Europe, where it can be found near waterbodies such as ponds and marshes. It is known for its red colored belly used to ward off predators, an example of aposematism, and its distinctive "whoop" call.
The pool frog is a European frog in the family Ranidae. Its specific name was chosen by the Italian herpetologist Lorenzo Camerano in 1882, in order to honour his master Michele Lessona.
The Balkan frog also known as the Balkan water frog and Greek marsh frog) is a species of frog occurring in Greece and, to a lesser extent, in Albania, Montenegro, and Serbia. The species highly resembles Pelophylax ridibundus, from which it was only distinguished in 1991 by bio-acoustic analysis. The separation of the species is not unanimously accepted.
Edalorhina perezi is a species of frog in the family Leptodactylidae. It is one of the only two species in the genus Edalorhina in the family Leptodactylidae. This species is diurnal and terrestrial. During mating season both female and male frogs gather around treefall pools. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, and possibly Bolivia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, and freshwater marshes. The species listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List and the population is stable.
Graf's hybrid frog is a hybridogenic species in the true frog family Ranidae. It is found in France and Spain.
The Italian edible frog is a hybridogenic species in the true frog family Ranidae. These frogs are the offspring of P. bergeri and either P. ridibundus or the edible frog which is itself of hybrid origin.
The Sahara frog is a species of frog in the family Ranidae. It is native to Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Spanish North Africa, and Western Sahara; it has also been introduced to Gran Canaria. In French it is called grenouille verte d'Afrique du Nord, and in Spanish it is known as rana verde norteafricana.
Pelophylax is a genus of true frogs widespread in Eurasia, with a few species ranging into northern Africa. This genus was erected by Leopold Fitzinger in 1843 to accommodate the green frogs of the Old World, which he considered distinct from the brown pond frogs of Carl Linnaeus' genus Rana.
Hyaloklossia is a genus of parasitic alveolates in the phylum Apicomplexa. Only two species in this genus are currently recognised.
Parthenogenesis is a form of reproduction where eggs develop without fertilization, resulting in unisexual species. This phenomenon is closely related with reproductive modes such as hybridogenesis, where fertilization occurs, but the paternal DNA is not passed on. Among amphibians, it is seen in numerous frog and salamander species, but has not been recorded in caecilians.
The fertile hybrids of European water frogs reproduce by hybridogenesis (hemiclonally). This means that during gametogenesis, they discard the genome of one of the parental species and produce gametes of the other parental species. The first parental genome is restored by fertilization of these gametes with gametes from the first species. In all-hybrid populations of the edible frog Pelophylax kl. esculentus, however, triploid hybrids provide this missing genome.
Leszek Berger was a Polish herpetologist and malacologist.
Pelophylax caralitanus, commonly known as the Anatolian frog or Beyşehir frog, is a species of frog in the family Ranidae. It is endemic to southern Turkey and is considered vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Annemarie Ohler is an Austrian herpetologist and professor who concentrates on the taxonomy of amphibians. She has 3,602 citations and an h-index of 36.
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