Common frog

The Common Frog, Rana temporaria also known as the European Common Frog or European Common Brown Frog is found throughout much of Europe as far east as the Urals, except for most of Iberia, southern Italy, and the southern Balkans. It has been introduced to Ireland. The skin colour ranges between green and brown and adults can grow to 10cm.

The Common Frog can be distinguished from the Common toad by the skin which is smoother and is moist, the rear legs are longer and the feet more prominently webbed. Frogs move by hopping whereas toads more often crawl.

The adult common frog eats insects and small invertebrates such as earthworms and slugs which they catch with a long sticky tongue. Over winter they hibernate in the mud on the bottom of ponds.

Common frogs breed in shallow, still, fresh water such as ponds, with breeding commencing in March. The adults congregate in the ponds, where the males compete for females. The courtship ritual involves croaking, and a successful male grasps the female under the forelegs. During the mating season the males can be recognised by a darkened swelling, the nuptial pad on their 'thumbs'. The females, which are generally larger than the males, lay up to 4000 eggs which float in large clusters.

See also frog.

External links

• Amphibians of Europe
• Offwell Woodland and Wildlife Trust
• Time-lapse video showing the egg's development until hatching