The Greek stream frog, or simply Greek frog (''Rana graeca''), 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
Ranidae found in Albania,
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
, Bulgaria, Greece,
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
,
Serbia and Montenegro
Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
, and Turkey. 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 temperate
forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
s, temperate
grassland
A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...
,
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 wate ...
s, intermittent rivers, freshwater
spring
Spring(s) may refer to:
Common uses
* Spring (season), a season of the year
* Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy
* Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water
* Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a ...
s, and pastureland.
It is not considered threatened by the
IUCN
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
.
Reproduction
Reproductive periods occur only once a year, beginning shortly after hibernation in February and ending in April. The process involves a call from the male, which can come from either under or above the water surface, mainly during the night. Males will, however, call during the day depending on water temperature.
[Asimakopoulos, B., Sofianidou, T. S.,Schneider, H.: ''Reproductive and calling behavior of the Greek frog Rana graeca (Amphibia: Anura) in Greece.'' In: ''Zoologischer Anzeiger.'' Volume 225, 1990, pp. 134-143.] Spots seen as safe and out of sight by the species, such as dark crevices in the bank under roots or stones, are its first choice for calling and mating sites.
The egg masses are then attached to the roof of a cavity.
Each egg mass may contain anywhere from 200 to 2000 individual eggs, which range from 2 to 3.5 millimetres in diameter, surrounded by a protective gelatinous envelope of size between 4 and 7 millimetres. Observation has led to believe that males can guard the eggs for a certain amount of time.
The newly hatched larvae are about 9 millimetres in length, and grow up to 45 millimetres in anywhere from two to three months (water temperature may, however, cause development to slow down). After their third hibernation, the new Rana graeca reach sexual maturity.
References
Rana (genus)
Amphibians described in 1891
Amphibians of Europe
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
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