Italian agile frog

Italian agile frog
	Italian agile frog ( Rana latastei )
Systematics
without rank:	Amphibians (Lissamphibia)
Order :	Frog (anura)
Subordination :	Neobatrachia
Family :	Real frogs (Ranidae)
Genre :	Real frogs ( Rana )
Type :	Italian agile frog
Scientific name
	Rana latastei
	Boulenger , 1879

The Italian agile frog ( Rana latastei ) belongs to the genus of real frogs . Together with similar-looking and also more terrestrial species such as the agile frog , the moor frog and the common frog , it is also listed under the collective term " brown frogs ". The species inhabits a relatively narrow area in the northern Italian Po plain and marginally in neighboring regions and countries.

features

The head-torso length of the adult animals reaches a maximum of 7.5 centimeters in females, but mostly the species remains under six centimeters in length. The Italian agile frog is gracefully built and - similar to the agile frog - has noticeably long hind legs. In the so-called heel test (a hind leg is folded forward along the trunk), the heel joint projects far beyond the tip of the head. The snout is less pointed than that of the agile frog and somewhat rounded when viewed from the side. The basic color of the upper side ranges from light beige-brown to gray-brown, especially females sometimes have a reddish color. There may also be a black spot. Below the brown frog-typical, black-brown temple spot and along the upper lip, a light-colored band runs, which ends abruptly below the eye in this species. It is also noticeable that the area between the eye and the tip of the snout is pigmented darker. The underside is indistinctly spotted dark gray on a whitish background; especially on the throat. There is also a bright center line that interrupts the spotting.

The eardrum within the temporal spot remains with half to two thirds of the eye diameter smaller than in the agile frog and is not quite as close behind the eye as in this. The glandular ridges that extend laterally over the back are not completely parallel, but have a greater distance at the height of the shoulders (in contrast to the common frog).

The slightly smaller males have a dark red-brownish spotted throat and have stronger front legs than the females. Their inner thighs are orange-reddish in color, whereas those of the females are whitish. At the mating season, males have dark brown oestrus calluses on their fingers. They have no sound bubbles , so their mating calls are very quiet. Outside the breeding season, the drawing elements often fade and the animals appear lighter overall on land. Subspecies have not been described.

Reproduction and Individual Development

The spawning waters are visited between mid-February and mid-April after the winter rest. The males stay under water while they utter their "meowing" mating calls as long, fine single tones during the day and at night. Females arriving at the water body are clasped axillary . Finally, the relatively small, compact spawning balls are deposited in 10 to 30 cm water depth, whereby these are often attached in groups to submerged branches. A spawning bale contains between 90 and 900 (1200) black-brown eggs on top; their jelly shells have a diameter of six to seven millimeters. Depending on the water temperature, it takes 12 to 25 days for the tadpoles to hatch .

The metamorphosis of the larvae takes about another three months. When they go ashore, the young frogs are just under 1.5 centimeters long (as older tadpoles they measured around 5 cm total length - with oar tails). After one or two hibernation periods, they reach sexual maturity - the males usually earlier than the females.

Habitat and way of life

Italian agile frogs inhabit light, herbaceous deciduous forests with high groundwater levels, for example alluvial forests and swamps, alternatively also moist poplar groves, rice fields and similar humid biotopes. Backwaters , ditches and forest ponds serve as spawning waters , and occasionally calm water points in flowing waters. Outside the spawning season, the species lives terrestrially and predominantly at dawn. It hunts for invertebrates (insects, worms, spiders, etc.), while it can itself become prey for the Eastern water vole . In addition, however, a wide range of other predators can be assumed (compare, for example, in the article Common Frog ). In the event of danger, the animals flee with long leaps and then press themselves against the ground. The overwintering usually takes place in hiding places that can be up to a kilometer away from the spawning water.

distribution

The distribution area is limited to the lowland northern italy (from Turin east), the southernmost point of the Swiss Ticino , the extreme western edge of Slovenia and the Croatian peninsula of Istria . The species was only detected in 1977 in the former Yugoslavia and "rediscovered" in Ticino in 1981 after 75 years. The greatest population densities are reached in the northern Po plain. The vertical distribution ranges from sea level to almost 500 m above sea level.

The areas of Rana latastei and the agile frog ( Rana dalmatina ) partially overlap; Occasionally, common ( syntopic ) occurrences in the same habitats can occur. Overall, however, the Italian agile frog prefers more humid habitats at lower altitudes.

Hazard and protection

The entire population is classified as "VU" (endangered) by the IUCN ; regionally, however, there is an even greater threat to the Italian agile frog. The causes are habitat loss and impairment, especially lowering of the groundwater level and the shrinking of intact wet forests, especially in the Po Valley, in Veneto and in Istria. A total of around 250 recent occurrences can be assumed, making the Italian agile frog one of the rarest amphibian species in Europe. The genetic diversity is to be limited, especially in the western reserves, which could be associated with a greater sensitivity to changing environmental influences.

Legal protection status (selection)

Fauna-Flora-Habitat-Guideline (FFH-RL): Appendices II and IV (species to be strictly protected / specially protected areas are to be designated)
Bern Convention : Appendix II
Federal Nature Conservation Act (BNatSchG): strictly protected

National Red List classifications (selection)

Red list of Switzerland: VU (corresponds to: endangered)
Red list of the Federal Republic of Germany: (this species does not appear here)
Red list of Austria: (this species does not appear here)