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Frog or Toad please (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter JimMorris
- Start date
Mike Richardson
Formerly known as Skink1978
It looks like an Edible Frog (Rana esculenta) to me but not sure if they can be found on Sheppey. More likely a Marsh Frog but the stripe on the back is confusing me. Definitely a frog.
Last edited:
dave123
Well-known member
i did wander, plus the head looks wrong for natterjack
Isurus
Well-known member
agreed. I think there is a colony of esculenta somewhere out there if memory serves. It'll probably be referenced on the RAUK website if so.
Quote from The Herpetological Conservation Trust website regarding Marsh frog (Pelophylax ribundus), Pool frog (P.lessonae) and Edible frog (P. esculenta).
These three frogs form an unusual species complex due not only to their close relationship but also the results of them interbreeding. One species, the Pool Frog, appears to be native - but our native race of this species has little, if any, green in its colouration. So far as the rest of this complex is concerned all of those found in this country are the result of introductions and subsequent breeding. The peculiarity of their breeding is best illustrated by the fact that P esculentus is the result of cross-breeding between P ridibundus and P lessonae and yet is clearly a species in its own right as it in turn can breed true.
The Marsh Frog was introduced in the mid thirties on the edge of Romney Marsh. It has since expanded throughout most of the Marsh and much of the surrounding countryside in both Kent and Sussex. Other introductions have occurred and it can be found at various locations, throughout Southern England in particular. It is the largest and most distinctive of the green frogs.
The Pool Frog and the Edible Frog are harder to differentiate. Both have been introduced, particularly in Southern England, though which of the two was the subject of the introduction is harder to say. They have proved to be particularly successful in East Anglia and South-Eastern England. The complex of waterways and ponds in Surrey and the North of Sussex have a clearly growing population.
All three species have quite loud calls during the breeding season. This is typically in May, much later than the Common Frog. The tadpoles grow considerably larger before metamorphosis and on occasion will over-winter and metamorphose early in the following Spring. This has been observed in a Pool Frog colony in Sussex.
The three species can be told apart by the length of the back leg and the size of the meta-tarsal tubercle - this is a bulge found at the base of the shortest rear toe. The Marsh frog has the longest hind leg in proportion to its body with the smallest metatarsal tubercle. The Pool Frog has the shortest hind leg but the largest metatarsal tubercle. The Edible Frog falls between the two in both respects.
It's one of the above, take your pick.
These three frogs form an unusual species complex due not only to their close relationship but also the results of them interbreeding. One species, the Pool Frog, appears to be native - but our native race of this species has little, if any, green in its colouration. So far as the rest of this complex is concerned all of those found in this country are the result of introductions and subsequent breeding. The peculiarity of their breeding is best illustrated by the fact that P esculentus is the result of cross-breeding between P ridibundus and P lessonae and yet is clearly a species in its own right as it in turn can breed true.
The Marsh Frog was introduced in the mid thirties on the edge of Romney Marsh. It has since expanded throughout most of the Marsh and much of the surrounding countryside in both Kent and Sussex. Other introductions have occurred and it can be found at various locations, throughout Southern England in particular. It is the largest and most distinctive of the green frogs.
The Pool Frog and the Edible Frog are harder to differentiate. Both have been introduced, particularly in Southern England, though which of the two was the subject of the introduction is harder to say. They have proved to be particularly successful in East Anglia and South-Eastern England. The complex of waterways and ponds in Surrey and the North of Sussex have a clearly growing population.
All three species have quite loud calls during the breeding season. This is typically in May, much later than the Common Frog. The tadpoles grow considerably larger before metamorphosis and on occasion will over-winter and metamorphose early in the following Spring. This has been observed in a Pool Frog colony in Sussex.
The three species can be told apart by the length of the back leg and the size of the meta-tarsal tubercle - this is a bulge found at the base of the shortest rear toe. The Marsh frog has the longest hind leg in proportion to its body with the smallest metatarsal tubercle. The Pool Frog has the shortest hind leg but the largest metatarsal tubercle. The Edible Frog falls between the two in both respects.
It's one of the above, take your pick.
