Scutarian water frog
| Scutarian water frog | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Scutarian water frog ( Pelophylax shqipericus ) |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Pelophylax shqipericus | ||||||||||||
| (Hotz, Uzzell, Günther , Tunner & Heppich, 1987) |
The Scutarian water frog ( Pelophylax shqipericus or Rana shqiperica ) belongs to the family of real frogs (Ranidae) within the order of the frog auger. In addition, it is counted according to appearance, way of life and relationships to the water frogs , which are now placed by many authors in their own genus Pelophylax . The species is distributed on the western coast of the Balkans from southern Montenegro to Albania .
features
The Scutarian water frog has a body length of about 60 to 80 mm and is similar to the small water frog ( Pelophylax lessonae ) as well as the Epirus water frog ( Pelophylax epeiroticus ) and other species of the water frog complex. A clear demarcation is primarily possible using molecular biological characteristics. He has clearly arched heel bumps . A green longitudinal line on the center of the spine is not present in all specimens. At spawning time, the slightly smaller males have a grass-green to yellow-olive color on top; the otherwise pronounced pattern of large brown or black spots is reduced at this time. Their vocal sacs are weakly pigmented and olive green to gray. The females are colored light brown or olive green. The groin area is clearly pigmented in yellow, as is the underside of the thighs. The ventral side is creamy white and hardly spotted.
distribution and habitat
The distribution area of the Scutari water frog is limited to the coastal lowlands of the Balkan Peninsula from southern Montenegro to Albania. Heights up to a maximum of 500 meters are settled. Its habitat consists mainly of vegetation-rich still waters and includes swamps, canals and ditches in marshland, calm water areas of slowly flowing waters and the shores of the eponymous Skadar Lake .
Systematics
The Scutari water frog belongs to the complex of forms of the water frogs ( Pelophylax ), which has not yet been systematically processed and is difficult to determine due to the diverse hybrid formations . In a large part of its range, the species is associated with the sea frog or rather the Balkan water frog ( Pelophylax kurtmuelleri ). Hybrid formation between these occurs regularly. However, the offspring appear to be sterile, which speaks for effective reproductive isolation barriers. Other closely related and recognized water frog species on the southern Balkan peninsula including the Mediterranean islands are the Epirus water frog ( Pelophylax epeiroticus ) and the Crete water frog ( P. cretensis ). The Karpathian water frog ( P. cerigensis ) is called a form with an unexplained status. Bedriaga's water frog ( Pelophylax cf. bedriagae ) also occurs in the Middle East , which, according to now dubious opinions, should also occur in Turkey, Cyprus and several Greek islands.
Danger
The Scutarian water frog is classified as endangered in the IUCN's Red List of Threatened Species because it has a relatively small range of less than 5000 km² and this is highly fragmented. In addition, an increasing deterioration of its habitats is noted. The main threat to this species comes from the pollution and drainage of suitable habitats through agriculture, tourism and the settlement of their habitat. Introduced water frogs, which displace it in its habitat, pose an additional threat.
Web links
literature
- Hans Schneider, Gerhard Joermann: Mating calls of water frogs (Ranidae) of Lake Skutari, Yugoslavia, and relationship to water frogs in Greece. Journal for Zoological Systematics and Evolution Research, Volume 26, 1988, pp. 261-275.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Axel Kwet: Reptiles and Amphibians of Europe . Franckh'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 2005, p. 109, ISBN 3-440-10237-8
- ↑ a b Jörg Plötner: The West Palearctic Water Frogs - From Martyrs of Science to Biological Sensation . Supplement to the magazine f. Feldherpetologie 9, Bielefeld 2005. ISBN 3-933066-26-3
- ↑ Pelophylax shqipericus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2009. Posted by: Uzzell, T. et al. , 2008.