Pelophylax perezi. Photo by David Perez |
The Iberian water
frog lives in Iberia (Spain and Portugal) as its name suggests but it is also
known as Perez’s frog (Pelophylax perezi)
and the Iberian green frog. Its scientific name used to be Rana perezi, and
this is still used by many zoologists and naturalists.
It needs to be
distinguished from the Iberian frog (Rana
iberica), which also lives in Spain and Portugal but unlike the Iberian
water frog which is very common and widely distributed, the Iberian frog is now
very rare and limited by the number of locations it still survives in.
The Iberian water
frog’s key to success is that it isn’t fussy about its habitat and is found in
ponds, lakes, reservoirs, rivers, marshes, and just about anywhere there is
freshwater. It is often found breeding in garden ponds and also in the large
water tank reservoirs made for farm irrigation.
It also lives in
southern France and has been successfully introduced into Tenerife and the Canary Islands,
the Azores and Madeira, as well as the Balearic Islands. It is also reported
from a couple of sites in the UK where it is surviving.
The Iberian
waterfrog is usually some shade of green as an overall colour but sometimes
blueish specimens are found. These frogs often have a yellowish line down their
backs.
Juvenile Iberian water frog. Photo by Steve Andrews |
The Iberian water
frog is a large species with females being bigger than the males. The males croak loudly and congregate in
large numbers in the breeding season. They can be territorial and will fight.
The Iberian water
frog is also known to resort to cannibalism at times and will eat its own tadpoles
and smaller frogs.
The Iberian waterfrog, as its name suggests, spends most of its time in the water or very near
it. It likes to bask in the sun at the edges of ponds or on lily-pads or
anything else it can haul its body out onto.
Iberian Water Frogs. Quinta do Lago, Algarve, Portugal. 07/05/2102
The Iberian Frog
Rana iberica. Photo by Luis Fernández García |
It looks similar to the
Common frog (R.temporaria) and shares
its habitat with this species in some places. It can grow to about 7 cm (2.8 in)
in length but a more usual size is 5 cm (2.0 in).
The Iberian frog is
having problems mainly due to habitat loss caused by deforestation and land
development and is also threatened by introduced and naturalised predatory species
including the American mink (Neovison
vison). Climate Change is also said to be taking its toll on this species
of frog and its official Conservation Status is “Near Threatened.”
SAVE THE FROGS
Sadly it's not just the Iberian frog that is declining in numbers and in danger, because worldwide many species of frog, toad, salamander and newt are in serious trouble too. Water pollution, pesticides, herbicides, habitat destruction, the danger from traffic on roads, competition with other species, disease and Climate Change are all contributing to this, and many types are actually endangered to the point of facing extinction.
Dr Kerry Kriger has set up the first ever charity devoted to saving frogs and amphibians. Find out what you can do to help Save The Frogs here!
SAVE THE FROGS
Sadly it's not just the Iberian frog that is declining in numbers and in danger, because worldwide many species of frog, toad, salamander and newt are in serious trouble too. Water pollution, pesticides, herbicides, habitat destruction, the danger from traffic on roads, competition with other species, disease and Climate Change are all contributing to this, and many types are actually endangered to the point of facing extinction.
Dr Kerry Kriger has set up the first ever charity devoted to saving frogs and amphibians. Find out what you can do to help Save The Frogs here!
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