Rana
Moor Frog (Rana arvalis)
Within Europe, this species extends patchily throughout north-central and eastern Europe, from northeast France and adjacent Belgium in the west, and Croatia and the adjacent northern Balkans in the south, into western Russia and northwest Siberia; beyond here, this species extends throughout Siberia and Central Asia, as far east as northern Mongolia and adjacent regions of east-central Siberia. The species is largely terrestrial, occurring in heath and moorlands, flooded meadows and submerged forest, and other open humid lowland landscapes; breeding tends to occur opportunistically in ponds, ditches and flooded fields.
Several subspecies are recognised, two of which occur within Europe:
R. a. arvalis - occurs throughout much of Europe.
R. a. wolterstorffi - occurs throughout eastern Austria and adjacent Croatia and Slovakia, and from here into the northern Balkans and southern Poland.
Photo by
@Fishapod (
unknown subspecies)
Agile Frog (Rana dalmatina)
Within Europe, this species extends throughout much of western, central and southeast Europe, from the north-central Iberian Peninsula, western France and the Channel Islands in the west to Bulgaria, Thracian Turkey and southwest Ukraine in the east, with patchily-distributed disjunct populations in northern Germany, Denmark and southernmost Sweden. The species is absent from the bulk of the Alps. Beyond here, the species extends into Anatolian Turkey. The species is highly terrestrial and diurnal, occurring in humid deciduous forest and woodland, and in adjacent meadows and fields, from sea-level to mountainous foothills. During the breeding season, the species tends to occur opportunistically in a wide range of water bodies, such as ditches, ponds, flooded fields and occasionally slow-moving rivers and streams.
Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present within the Zoochat gallery.
Greek Stream Frog (Rana graeca)
This species extends throughout much of the Balkans, from the Dinaric Alps of southern Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the north to the Peloponnesus in the south, and east to northeast Greece, western Thracian Turkey and southeast Bulgaria, with some populations occurring at altitudes of up to 2,000 metres. The species is relatively terrestrial but more closely tied to aquatic habitats than congeners, generally remaining close to the breeding water bodies - these tend to comprise fast-flowing and well-oxygenated mountain rivers, streams and springs, but the species may also occur in more stagnant water bodies such as ditches, ponds and cattle troughs.
Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present within the Zoochat gallery.
Iberian Stream Frog (Rana iberica)
This species extends throughout the uplands of the northwest and central Iberian Peninsula, particularly the mountain ranges of the Sistema Central, occurring to altitudes of around 2,400 metres. The species is relatively terrestrial but more closely tied to aquatic habitats than congeners, generally remaining close to the breeding water bodies - these tend to comprise fast-flowing and well-oxygenated mountain rivers, streams and springs, but the species may also occur in more stagnant water bodies such as ditches, ponds and cattle troughs.
Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present within the Zoochat gallery.
Italian Stream Frog (Rana italica)
This species extends throughout the Apennines of the Italian peninsula, to altitudes of around 1,400 metres. The species is relatively terrestrial but more closely tied to aquatic habitats than congeners, generally remaining close to the breeding water bodies - these tend to comprise fast-flowing and well-oxygenated mountain rivers, streams and springs, but the species may also occur in more stagnant water bodies such as ditches, ponds and cattle troughs.
Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present within the Zoochat gallery.
Italian Agile Frog (Rana latastei)
This species is restricted to the Po Basin of north-central Italy, and adjacent regions of western Slovenia and northwest Croatia. The species is highly terrestrial and diurnal, occurring in humid deciduous forest and woodland, and in adjacent meadows and fields, and is largely restricted to lowland habitats. During the breeding season, the species tends to occur opportunistically in a wide range of water bodies, such as ditches, ponds, flooded fields and occasionally slow-moving rivers and streams. The species is classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN, due to habitat fragmentation, pollution and the introduction of invasive species into the breeding waters.
Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present within the Zoochat gallery.
Pyrenean Stream Frog (Rana pyrenaica)
This species is restricted to a short stretch of the western Pyrenees in northern Spain and adjacent southwest France. The species is largely nocturnal and much more aquatic than congeners, occurring in small and well-oxygenated mountain streams and torrents located in and nearby deciduous woodland, where it tends to inhabit slower, deeper sections carved out by waterfalls and rapids. This species is classified as Endangered by the IUCN, due to habitat loss resulting from logging and climate change.
Monotypic; no photographs of this species are present within the Zoochat gallery.
Grass Frog (Rana temporaria)
Within Europe, this species extends throughout the vast majority of Europe from Scandinavia and the British Isles in the west to western Russia and southwest Siberia in the east, but in the south is only patchily present in the northern Iberian Peninsula, the northern Dolomites of Italy and the northern and central Balkans; populations extend deeper into Russia and adjacent regions of central Asia, as far east as the southern Urals and northern Kazakhstan. The species is relatively terrestrial, occupying humid gardens, meadows and open forest close to breeding waters; breeding is fairly opportunistic, taking place in stagnant pools and ditches, flooded agricultural fields, swamps and lakes, along with garden ponds and upland tarns.
Several subspecies native to mountain ranges have been proposed; however, at present only two subspecies are recognised:
R. t. parvipalmata - occurs in the northwest Iberian Peninsula within Galicia and the Basque Country.
R. t. temporaria - occurs throughout the rest of the species range.
Photo by
@Swampy (R. t. temporaria)
.