Pyrenean frog
| Pyrenean Frog | |
|---|---|
| |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Class: | |
| Order: | |
| Family: | |
| Genus: | |
| Species: | R. pyrenaica
|
| Binomial name | |
| Rana pyrenaica Serra-Cobo, 1993
| |
The Pyrenean frog or Pyrenees frog (Rana pyrenaica) is a species of frog in the Ranidae family found in France and Spain. Its natural habitats are rivers and intermittent rivers. Rana pyrenaica is threatened by habitat loss.
Description
The Pyrenean frog is the smallest species of brown frog in Europe, with adults reaching a snout-to-vent length of about 5 cm (2.0 in),females being slightly larger than males. The snout is blunt and rounded and the nostrils are more widely separated than are the eye bulges. The tympani are small and not always visible and the dorso-lateral folds are fairly close together. The hind feet are completely webbed apart from the tip of the fourth toe. This frog is creamy-brown, buff, greyish-brown, reddish-brown or olive-grey with rather indistinct blotches of greenish-brown or brown. The hind legs are faintly barred. The upper lip is often noticeably pale and the throat and underparts are whitish with the belly sometimes flushed with yellow or pink, especially under the thighs.[2]
Behaviour
Adult Pyrenean frogs spend much of their time in the fast-flowing rocky streams and torrents near which they live, but juveniles are more terrestrial. The frogs are timid and escape from danger by diving into water and hiding in crevices and under stones.[2] They hibernate in the winter but are active during both day and night between about February and July. Breeding takes place after the snow has melted, the female laying batches of jelly-covered eggs (totalling up to 150) under stones, in crevices or on the bed of a stream.[3]
Status
The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the Pyrenean frog as being an "endangered species". This is because its numbers are decreasing, its total area of occupancy is less than 5,000 square kilometres (1,900 sq mi) and even within this range, its populations are fragmented. Threats it faces include alteration to its habitat through the intensification of agricultural practices, disturbance from increased tourism and possibly climate change.[1]
References
- ^ a b Template:IUCN2013.2
- ^ a b Arnold, E. Nicholas; Ovenden, Denys W. (2002). Field Guide: Reptiles & Amphibians of Britain & Europe. Collins & Co. pp. 81–82. ISBN 9780002199643.
- ^ "Rana pyrenaica". AmphibiaWeb. Retrieved 2014-10-07.
- Manenti R. & Bianchi B. A new western limit for Rana pyrenaica Serra-Cobo 1993 in the Irati region (Pyrenees). Herpetology notes 4:403-404