Iberian frog
Spanish frog ( Rana iberica )
The Spanish frog ( Rana iberica ) is within the order of Anura to the family of frogs rights and also to the genus of the Real frogs. In addition, he is expected to follow appearance, lifestyle and relationships to form complex of brown frogs. The species is found only in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula.
Features
The Spanish frog has a body length of 30 to 70 mm, the males stay smaller than females and only rarely reach this maximum size. It is a small and slender brown frog with a short, round snout and long legs. The dorsal coloration is variable brownish, dark olive or gray with black and bright, blurry spots. The belly is whitish with dark spots, the throat dark marbled with bright centerline or without markings white. The skin is smooth with sharp, widely spaced glands bars. The webbed feet almost reach the toes. The first and second fingers are of approximately equal length. The males do not have vocal sacs.
In -laid forward hind leg above the hock, the tip of the snout extends beyond changing the nature of the common frog (R. temporaria ) is distinguishable. At the very similar species include the Pyrenees frog ( R. pyrenaica ), which occurs only in a very small area of the Pyrenees on the Spanish- French border, as well as the agile frog (R. dalmatina ).
Distribution and habitat
The Spanish Frog's distribution area is limited to the north-west of the Iberian peninsula and is located on Spanish and Portuguese territory. He comes in heights before 100-2425 m ( in the Sierra de Béjar in Central Spain ). Isolated populations are found in the Basque Country, the Spanish central mountain ranges, in Extremadura and in Marinha Grande and Serra de Sao Mamede in Portugal. Most of the habitats are characterized by annual rainfall of over 1000 mm.
As habitat of the frog prefers cool running water (especially mountain streams ) in open mountain forests. But he also inhabited the shorelines of different water types within dwarf shrub formations and pasture landscapes.
Way of life
The Spanish Frog's reproductive period is in the months from November to March, at higher elevations also until April, possibly even into July. In central Spain, spawning activities were recorded in November and December. The gelatinous eggs are deposited in small bales of 100 to 450 eggs at night under stones in the stream bed.
Endangering
The Spanish frog is on the Red List of Threatened Species IUCN as a sort of " early warning " ( " Near Threatened ", NT ) classified as a sharp drop of but less than 30% within the last ten years was found. The main threat to this species extends from the habitat loss that occurs due to the increasing modification of habitats by agriculture and settlement.
Legal protection status
- Fauna-Flora -Habitat Directive ( FFH Directive ) Annex IV ( strictly protected )
- Federal Species Protection Ordinance ( BArtSchV ): specially protected