The Iberian frog (''Rana iberica''), also known as Iberian stream frog, is a species of
frog
A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...
in the family
Ranidae found in Portugal and Spain. Its natural
habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
s are
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...
s, mountain streams and
swamps. It is threatened by
habitat loss
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...
,
introduced species
An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...
,
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
, water contamination, and increased ultraviolet radiation.
[Ayllón E., Domínguez C., 2001: “Situación actual y problemas de conservación de la rana patilarga en la Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid. Boletín de la Sociedad para la Conservación de los Vertebrados, 8–9: 7–15.]
Description
The Iberian frog can grow to about in length but a more normal size is . Females tend to be larger than males. The tympanum can be seen just behind the eye and is about half its size in diameter. From the side of the head to the groin is a distinct ridge, the dorsolateral fold, which distinguishes this species from the
common frog
The common frog or grass frog (''Rana temporaria''), also known as the European common frog, European common brown frog, European grass frog, European Holarctic true frog, European pond frog or European brown frog, is a semi-aquatic amphibian ...
. The skin is smooth with fine granulations. The colour is very variable, being mainly olive, reddish or greyish-brown, sometimes with darker markings. A dark streak runs between the nostril and the eye, and a thin, white line marks the upper lip. The hind legs are sometimes barred with dark brown. The hind feet are more completely webbed than the common frog. The underside is pale, sometimes with darker spots, but the centre of the throat is not spotted.
[''Rana iberica'']
AmphibiaWeb. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
The Iberian frog has a distinctive call, which is generally produced at night. It sounds like "rao-rao-rao" and is issued at a rate of about three calls per second.
[
]
Distribution and habitat
The Iberian frog 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 else ...
to Portugal and north-western and central Spain. It is a mountain species and has been recorded at altitudes up to .Perez's frog
The Perez's frog, also known as Iberian waterfrog, Iberian green frog, or Coruna frog (''Pelophylax perezi'') is a species of frog in the family Ranidae. It is native to southern France, Portugal, Spain, and has been introduced to the Canary an ...
('' P. perezi'') and the common frog (''R. temporaria'').[
]
Biology
The Iberian frog is an agile frog, jumping into the water if disturbed and swimming away rapidly.[ It is active both by day and night, and feeds on ]beetle
Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...
s, flies
Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced m ...
, caddisflies
The caddisflies, or order Trichoptera, are a group of insects with aquatic larvae and terrestrial adults. There are approximately 14,500 described species, most of which can be divided into the suborders Integripalpia and Annulipalpia on the ...
, stoneflies, spider
Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...
s, and harvestmen
The Opiliones (formerly Phalangida) are an order of arachnids colloquially known as harvestmen, harvesters, harvest spiders, or daddy longlegs. , over 6,650 species of harvestmen have been discovered worldwide, although the total number of extan ...
.[ In Galicia and lowland Portugal, breeding takes place from November to March, but in upland areas, it occurs from March to May. ]Amplexus
Amplexus (Latin "embrace") is a type of mating behavior exhibited by some externally fertilizing species (chiefly amphibians and horseshoe crabs) in which a male grasps a female with his front legs as part of the mating process, and at the same ...
, with the male clinging to the back of the female, takes place in the water. Small clumps of eggs
Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...
with a gelatinous coat are laid and are stuck to water weeds or placed beneath underwater stones. When the tadpoles hatch, they feed on vegetable matter and take about three months before they undergo metamorphosis into juvenile frogs. These are about long. Males become mature when they are about in length and females when they are rather larger.[
]
Conservation status
The Iberian frog is threatened by habitat loss through agriculture, deforestation, and the planting of non-native woodlands. Tourist development and recreational use of the land may cause disturbances. Introduced fish species and the presence of the American mink
The American mink (''Neogale vison'') is a semiaquatic species of mustelid native to North America, though human intervention has expanded its range to many parts of Europe, Asia and South America. Because of range expansion, the American mink i ...
(''Neogale vison''), escaped from fur farms, may also reduce numbers. Parts of its range include two national parks, Parque Natural del Gorbea and Parque Natural de Izki, and in these it is protected. In other places, especially in the Sistema Central Mountains and Extremadura
Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central-western part of the Iberian Peninsula, it ...
in Spain, populations are shrinking. The species is classified as being vulnerable in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1071372
Endemic amphibians of the Iberian Peninsula
Rana (genus)
Amphibians described in 1879
Amphibians of Europe
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot