Pyrenean frog
| Pyrenean frog | ||||||||||||
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Pyrenean frog ( Rana pyrenaica ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Rana pyrenaica | ||||||||||||
| Serra-Cobo , 1993 |
The Pyrenean frog ( Rana pyrenaica ) is a south-western European amphibian species from the genus of real frogs , which was first described in 1993. Until then, the animals had not been distinguished from other brown frogs , namely the common frog . The range of the species is limited to a very small region in the Pyrenees .
features
The Pyrenean frog reaches a body length of about 45 to 50 mm, with the males having a maximum length of about 46 and the females of about 51 mm. The basic color of the back and the flanks is olive-gray and cream-white with indistinct dark spots, whereby an individual drawing in the form of an inverted “V” can be present. Red-brown specimens also occur. The ventral side is light with a pinkish-gray area below the throat. The belly color varies seasonally from yellowish in spring to bluish in summer; During the spawning season, the undersides of the relatively long hind legs are also colored red. The skin of the body is smooth and wartless.
The head is wider than it is long, and the space between the nostrils near the front of the head is greater than that between the eyes. The eye color is golden yellow with dark spots; a dark face mask is available, but only indistinctly visible. The outer eardrum is only small and inconspicuous.
distribution and habitat
The range of the Pyrenean frog is limited to a very small area in the Pyrenees on the border between France and Spain . This lies between Ordesa in the Spanish province of Huesca and the Roncal Valley in Navarra .
The individual populations are separated from each other and live at altitudes of 800 to 1800 meters. They are limited to habitats with running water, while they are not found in lakes or ponds. Cold, oxygen-rich waters with a stony bottom and low vegetation density are preferred.
Way of life
The frogs are diurnal, with the main activity periods ranging from February to July and being highly dependent on the temperatures. These are between 3.7 and 20.3 ° C during the active phases. While young animals mainly live in the bank area, the adult frogs are mostly in the water.
The spawning phase begins with the melting of the snow in February to April. During this time the males call with a low grunt that cannot be heard far. The females lay up to 150 eggs in several egg packets under stones or in other water structures; the eggs do not float to the surface due to their specific gravity. They have a diameter of about 3.2 mm and consist of a transparent, gelatinous mass in which the dark embryos are visible. The hatching tadpoles are about 10.6 mm long.
Danger
The Pyrenean frog is classified as endangered in the IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species because it has a very small distribution area of only about 2400 km², which is also highly fragmented. Regionally, the populations are decreasing and in some areas of Huesca the frog is already extinct. The sources of danger include artificial fish stocks and the pollution and destruction of water habitats.
supporting documents
- ↑ Rana pyrenaica in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2007. Posted by: J. Bosch, M. Tejedo, C. Miaud, I. Martínez-Solano, A. Salvador, M. García-París, E. Recuero Gil, R Marquez, C. Diaz Panigua, P. Geniez, 2006. Retrieved June 29, 2008.
