Its name fits well, because the small water frog – also known as the small water frog – is actually the smallest water frog species. According to the species portrait of the nature conservation association NABU, the females are about 5 to 7.5 centimeters tall, the males 4.5 to 6.5 centimeters.
The small edible frog has been somewhat overlooked by research so far, there is still a lot to discover. That is why the German Society for Herpetology and Terrarium Science (DGHT) draws attention to the small water frog (Rana lessonae or Pelophylax lessonae): it has been named “Lurch of the Year 2023”.
Colored grass green
The small edible frog is usually colored grass-green, but there are also – more rarely – blue-green or brown. Wherever people design and deface, they don’t particularly like it; they are hardly to be found on large rivers and lakes. He prefers smaller and nutrient-poor waters with lots of plants and no fish, such as quiet forest bog ponds.
That doesn’t mean, however, that he himself is one of the quiet ones in the country. Like all green frogs, he doesn’t stick to the usual concert dates in the evening and at night, but croaks around the clock. When the sun is shining, it is even particularly loud.
The small water frog is easily confused with the marsh frog. The two species are very similar and can have common offspring, these hybrids are called pond frogs. Determining the species by visual inspection is almost impossible in practice. If you want to save yourself a genetic analysis, but still want to be correct: All three, small water frog, marsh frog and pond frog, are green frogs or also water frogs, so this collective name is definitely correct.
The small edible frog goes far over land to search for food, it is not strictly tied to the water. He also likes to look for a hiding place on land to hibernate. It is only found in Europe, but is widespread there from France to Russia, from the Garonne to the Volga. In the south it can be found up to the Po Valley, in the north up to the Swedish Baltic Sea coast at the 60th parallel. It can also be found in Germany, except in the coastal regions. According to the DGHT, it is represented in the southwest in the Rhine plain and in the region between Lake Constance and the Danube.
The populations are constantly declining, there is a lack of suitable spawning waters and retreats. The nutrient overload caused by traffic, industry and agriculture harms the small edible frog, which is considered “strictly protected” under the Federal Nature Conservation Act. So he must not be caught, injured or killed.
The mating season of the small edible frog begins at the end of April, the females deposit a total of 500 to 3,000 eggs in several spawning balls. Unlike the brown frogs, the green frogs take their time with spawning until July. So anyone who discovers spawning balls in June knows at least that they belong to the green frogs – regardless of whether they are small edible frogs, marsh frogs or pond frogs. (epd)
