The Spanish painted frog (''Discoglossus jeanneae''), in Spanish ''sapillo pintojo meridional'', is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...

in the family

Alytidae The Alytidae are a family (biology), family of primitive frogs. Their common name is painted frogs or midwife toads. Most are Endemism, endemic to Europe, but three species occur in northwest Africa, and a species formerly thought to be extinct i ...

(formerly Discoglossidae). It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Description

The Spanish painted frog is a medium-sized

amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...

. The top of the frog is predominantly colored with dark browns in the form of spots or stripes, and its underbelly is usually white or yellow. The males have webbing between their hind toes, but the webbing is not be found in females or adolescent males. During the mating season, the males develop black calluses on the toe webbing, throat, belly, and parts of the forefeet. This species is very closely related to the

Iberian painted frog The Iberian painted frog (''Discoglossus galganoi'') is a species of frog in the family Alytidae (formerly Discoglossidae). It is found in Portugal and Spain, where its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, Mediterranean-t ...

, but they differ significantly. The Spanish painted frog has a shorter snout and smaller forefeet than its Iberian counterpart.

Distribution and habitat

The Spanish painted frog is

to the southern, eastern, and north-eastern regions of Spain, but is more densely populated in the southern regions. It mostly lives in open areas, pine groves and shrublands from sea level to roughly 2,000 m above sea level.

Biology

Not much is known about the biology of the Spanish painted frog, but it is believed to be very similar to that of the Iberian painted frog. It is believed to be active year-round. Eggs are usually laid in small, shallow bodies of water. Its diet consists mostly of insects and worms, though it has also been known to eat the young of other frogs and toads. Most activity is at night. The tadpoles eat plant material.

Status

The Spanish painted frog is classified as near threatened according to the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

, and results from a series of droughts throughout most of its range. A high probability exists that isolated populations have become extinct along the Mediterranean coast.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q302887 Discoglossus Endemic amphibians of the Iberian Peninsula Endemic fauna of Spain Amphibians described in 1986 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN