Agile frog
| Agile frog | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Suborder: | Neobatrachia |
| Superfamily: | Ranoidea |
| Family: | Ranidae |
| Genus: | Rana |
| Species: | R. dalmatina |
| Binomial name | |
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Rana dalmatina Fitzinger, 1839 |
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The agile frog (Rana dalmatina) is a frog in the genus Rana in the family of the true frogs.
This species is thin and has long limbs and a pointy snout. Adult males are rarely larger than 6.5 cm, while females can grow up to 8 cm. Its ventral surface is light brown, reddish-brown, or light greyish-brown with very little contrast. Triangle-shaped spots reach from the temple to the eardrum, which are dark brown. The underside of the agile frog is white without any spots. During mating season, the males often become dark brown.
The hind legs are unusually long, which allow this species to jump further than other similar frogs - they have been known to jump up to two metres in distance. The pupils are horizontal. The colour of the upper third of the iris (above the pupil) is lighter and gold in coloration. The tympanum is about the size of the diameter of the eye. The gland stripes on the frog's back are not very developed and partially interrupted.
The agile frog can be found in France, the Channel Islands, parts of Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, on the Balkans, Greece, and by the Black Sea.
The call is a fairly quiet "rog ... rog ... rog", and can last for up to 12 seconds. They often also call under water, so the calls can only be heard from a very short distance by observers. Spawning only lasts a few days, and during this period, the males sometimes gather in large calling groups on the water surface to attracts females. In Central Europe, spawning usually occurs in the first 20 days of March, but can also be delayed, depending on the weather.
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Wikipedia