The
Marsh Frog (
Pelophylax ridibundus) is the largest
frogFrogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by long hind legs, a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
native to
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
, and belongs to the family of
true frogThe true frogs, family Ranidae, have the widest distribution of any frog family. They are abundant throughout most of the world, occurring on all continents except Antarctica...
s. It is very similar in appearance to the closely related
Edible FrogThe Edible Frog is a name for a common European frog, also known as the common water frog or green frog . It is used for food, particularly in France for the delicacy frogs' legs...
and
Pool FrogThe Pool Frog is a European frog. It is one of only three amphibian species recognized by the UK government as protected under its Biodiversity Action Plan. The reasons for declining populations are decreased pond habitat from human encroachment and also air pollution leading to...
. These three species, now again in the
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
PelophylaxPelophylax 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 Linnaeus' genus Rana.They are...
, are often referred to as "green frogs" to distinguish them from the more terrestrial European
RanaRana is a genus of frogs. Species include such archetypal pond frogs as the Common Frog of Europe, brown frogs, and the New World true frogs including the leopard frog. Members of this genus are found through much of Eurasia, North America, Central America, and the northern half of South America...
species, which are known as "brown frogs" (best exemplified by the
Common FrogThe Common Frog, Rana temporaria also known as the European Common Frog or European Common Brown Frog is found throughout much of Europe as far north as well north of the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia and as far east as the Urals, except for most of Iberia, southern Italy, and the southern Balkans...
Rana temporaria).
The Marsh Frog is a water-dwelling, generally green-colored frog species.
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The
Marsh Frog (
Pelophylax ridibundus) is the largest
frogFrogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by long hind legs, a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
native to
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
, and belongs to the family of
true frogThe true frogs, family Ranidae, have the widest distribution of any frog family. They are abundant throughout most of the world, occurring on all continents except Antarctica...
s. It is very similar in appearance to the closely related
Edible FrogThe Edible Frog is a name for a common European frog, also known as the common water frog or green frog . It is used for food, particularly in France for the delicacy frogs' legs...
and
Pool FrogThe Pool Frog is a European frog. It is one of only three amphibian species recognized by the UK government as protected under its Biodiversity Action Plan. The reasons for declining populations are decreased pond habitat from human encroachment and also air pollution leading to...
. These three species, now again in the
genusIn biology, a genus is a taxonomic unit used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The term comes from Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender" , cognate with – genos, "race, stock, kin" ..In addition, genus is a taxonomic rank in the hierarchy In biology, a genus (plural:...
PelophylaxPelophylax 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 Linnaeus' genus Rana.They are...
, are often referred to as "green frogs" to distinguish them from the more terrestrial European
RanaRana is a genus of frogs. Species include such archetypal pond frogs as the Common Frog of Europe, brown frogs, and the New World true frogs including the leopard frog. Members of this genus are found through much of Eurasia, North America, Central America, and the northern half of South America...
species, which are known as "brown frogs" (best exemplified by the
Common FrogThe Common Frog, Rana temporaria also known as the European Common Frog or European Common Brown Frog is found throughout much of Europe as far north as well north of the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia and as far east as the Urals, except for most of Iberia, southern Italy, and the southern Balkans...
Rana temporaria).
Characteristics
The Marsh Frog is a water-dwelling, generally green-colored frog species. It can reach a maximum length of 17 centimetres, but males remain smaller (around 12 cm). The head is proportionally large and the hind legs are long, which gives them excellent jumping abilities.
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 Western European populations are generally dark green to black with dark spot on the back and sides and three clear green lines on the back.
Diet
The diet of the Marsh Frog consists of
dragonfliesA dragonfly is a type of insect belonging to the order Odonata, the suborder Epiprocta or, in the strict sense, the infraorder Anisoptera. It is characterized by large multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong transparent wings, and an elongated body...
and other insects,
spiderSpiders are air-breathing chelicerate arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae modified into fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
s,
earthwormEarthworm is the common name for the largest members of Oligochaeta in the phylum Annelida. In classical systems they were placed in the order Opisthopora, on the basis of the male pores opening posterior to the female pores, even though the internal male segments are anterior to the female...
s and
slugSlug is a common word, normally applied to any gastropod mollusc that lacks a shell, has a very reduced shell, or has a small internal shell, in contrast to snails, which are gastropods with coiled shells that are big enough to retract into. All slugs are descended from snails that gradually lost...
s. Larger frogs also eat small rodents and sometimes smaller amphibians and
fishA fish is any aquatic vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins...
.
Distribution
The green frog occurs in the largest part of Europe, in Asian Russia to Afghanistan and Pakistan and in the Chinese province of
XinjiangXinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China and also claimed by the territory of the Republic of China.-Names:Older English-language reference works often refer to the area as Chinese Turkestan, Sinkiang, East...
. They prefer a water temperature of approximately 15 degrees Celsius.
It is now distinguished from
Pelophylax kurtmuelleri (Balkan Frog), which it resembles greatly, and which outnumbers it in most of Greece.