Loader

SPRINGFRØ

Description 

Agile frogs (Rana dalmatina) are medium to large, slender brown frogs with long hind legs. Dorsal side is usually uniform brown or reddish-brown, with a darker pattern of transverse lines on the hind legs. The belly, including the throat, is white in males and pale yellow in females, with no spots or other patterns. The snout is relatively long and sharp, the round eardrum is about the size of the eye and is clearly visible. The hind limbs are very long and allow jumps up to two meters long. Interestingly, males do not have vocal sacs, they vocalize underwater and are consequently harder to hear on the field. Agile frog is a predominantly terrestrial species, mostly active during the day. The mating season lasts from February to April. After the mating period, adults return to the wet meadows and forest edges, where they linger and feed for most of the year. Agile frogs sexually mature between the ages of two and three.

Agile frog (Photo: Aleksandra Lešnik)

Habitat

The agile frog is a thermophilic species that stay on land in light and dry deciduous forests, extensive meadows, on forest edges and clearings, where also hibernates. Reproduction takes place in smaller stagnant or slowly flowing waters, which can be several hundred meters away from the land habitats.

Threats

The species is threatened by the rapid loss of suitable aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Agricultural intensification and the pollution of water by pesticides, fertilizers and municipal sewage are among the most important risk factors. Drying up of aquatic habitats and urbanization of the landscape has a negative impact on populations. They are also at risk of introducing fish in water bodies that actively prey on eggs and larvae. As they migrate for longer distances, traffic road mortality is a significant threat for them.