Marsh Frog

Pelophylax ridibundus

Range

Native to Europe and parts of western Asia, reaching east to Kazakhstan, Iran and Afghanistan; an isolated relict population occurs in southern Hadhramaut, Saudi Arabia. Introduced populations are reported in Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, Sardinia, the Kamchatka Peninsula, the United Kingdom and the Al-Kharj region of Saudi Arabia.

Habitat

Usually associated with large, warm bodies of water with herbaceous vegetation, but it also uses ponds, rivers, puddles, lakes, fish ponds, flooded land and brackish coastal pools. It occurs in forests, grasslands, steppes and deserts up to 2,500 m.

Diet

Mostly arthropods and other invertebrates, supplemented by small fish, other amphibians—including its own species—and reptiles; the supplied source also reports small birds as prey.

Facts

• The marsh frog can tolerate brackish water, and it has been recorded living and breeding in salty pools along the shores of the Caspian and Black seas.

Research sources

• English Wikipedia