Frog-sharp frog: features of lifestyle and reproduction

One of the most numerous species of fauna is the frog (Rana arvalis), a typical representative of the amphibian class. It is often found near the reservoirs of many regions and massively inhabits the reserves.

Appearance

This species of frogs does not differ in size, reaching a maximum length of 7 cm. A distinctive feature is a pointed muzzle. There are some features of the structure of the body. So, with the addition of limbs perpendicular to the axis of the trunk, the ankle joints can not reach one another. Quite large in these frogs is the size of the internal calcaneal tubercle. It is tall and is more than half the length of the entire finger.

Due to the peculiar coloring, the sharp-edged frog is almost invisible in the grass. The back of the brown color can have a different yellowish, pink, olive tint. It often contains dark, shapeless spots of various sizes. A light strip sometimes passes along the back. From the eye to the shoulder stretches a dark spot, performing the function of camouflage during hunting. The male can be recognized by the rough marriage calluses, located on the fingers of the forelegs, and also by the bluish color of the body, which he acquires during the mating season. Life expectancy averages 12 years.

Spread

Almost everywhere in the territory of European countries there is a sharp-edged frog, the photo of which is placed in this article. In the north, the area of its distribution is limited to Scandinavia, in the south - to Yugoslavia and Romania. In Russia, the species range extends from the White Sea to the lower reaches of the Don River in the Rostov Region, including Western Siberia and the Urals.

Habitat

Forest and forest-steppe zones are the main places where this species of frogs lives most massively. In the mountains they are occasionally found in the Altai, at an altitude of not more than 2,140 meters above sea level, in the Carpathians, to a height of 987 m. They live almost everywhere, choosing both moist and dry areas. In broad-leaved and mixed forests, they prefer to occupy the fringes and clearings. They like to settle in river floodplains, swamps, overgrown ravines, in meadows rich in herbs. It is not uncommon to meet this amphibian on agricultural arable land, orchards and even in city parks and squares.

Lifestyle

Like all other amphibians, the frogs can have different activity depending on the temperature of the surrounding air. When cold weather sets in, they become less mobile. The ability of these amphibians to breathe not only with the help of the lungs, but also the entire skin surface requires a moist environment. Dry air can destroy them. Therefore, most of the time the frog spends in water, occasionally moving away from the reservoir for a distance of no more than 20 meters. They can hide under the roots of trees, in fallen leaves, dense grass. The most common are when humidity exceeds 85%.

In autumn, in September or October, the frog leaves for wintering. Carries it on land, hiding in old burrows of rodents, rotten stumps or cellars.

Food

The main food for frogs are insects. Most often these are beetles, mosquitoes, caterpillars. Do not mind a frog-frog to regale with shellfish, spiders, earthworms and other invertebrates. The nature of food depends largely on the habitat and the season. Hunting frogs with a long sticky tongue, which almost instantly grasp the prey.

They themselves often find themselves in the role of a victim. Snakes, storks, seagulls, crows, ferrets, badgers, foxes and many other representatives of the animal world are constantly hunting frogs. Tritons absorb their eggs, larvae of dragonflies and beetles - tadpoles. A sharp-pointed frog is also noticed in eating its specimens.

Reproduction

Spending most of their life on land, these frogs multiply in water. This occurs in the early spring, when the water temperature rises to 5 ° C, but the snow has not fully melted yet. The duration of the breeding season is small. By May, after a maximum of 25 days, it usually already ends.

For spawning, the frogs wit chooses mainly temporary reservoirs - peat quarries, puddles, ditches. At the bottom of grass-covered shoals with a depth of 40 cm, the female lays caviar, in which there may be 300 to 3 thousand eggs. The diameter of the eggs is about 7 mm. After this, the female leaves the reservoir, hiding under the leaves or moss. The male remains to guard the masonry, screaming at the approaching individuals.

The development of eggs lasts from 5 to 21 days, depending on the weather conditions. The length of hatched larvae does not exceed 8 mm. Their development lasts 37-90 days. Tadpoles have a dark color, the tail pointed at the end is twice the length of the body. For the second month of life, they form the forelimbs, lung respiration, and the tail resorption occurs. In June or July there are yearlings.

Mortality of frog progeny is very high. Almost half of the calves and tadpoles die in connection with the drying up of the reservoirs. On sphagnum bogs, most of them die from acidification of water. As a result, only 3% of the entire laid-off caviar survives to the stage of the yearlings.

Content in captivity

Observations of a grassy and pointed frog confirm the fact that there are practically no differences in their content in captivity. It will take a small terrarium (30-40 liters), which is planted with vegetation and a pond. It should be large enough in area, but shallow. Top of the capacity is covered with a grid to exclude the escape of the inhabitants. In no additional heating or lighting, the terrarium for the sharp-edged frog does not need.