Pool Frog
Pelophylax lessonae
The pool frog is the smallest member of the European water frog complex. It is characterized by a typically bright grass-green coloration, a light vertebral stripe, and yellow flanks. The species is closely tied to specialized habitats such as bogs, woodland ponds, and nutrient-poor pools. Unlike its relatives, it predominantly hibernates on land in frost-free burrows or under dead wood.
Details
Identification
Short hind legs (metatarsal tubercle test), usually grass-green, light vertebral stripe, white vocal sacs, yellow coloration in the groin area.
Social behavior
Males form calling choruses during the breeding season; outside of the mating period, the animals live largely solitary lives.
Diet
Mainly flying insects, beetles, spiders, and other small invertebrates; larvae feed on algae and detritus.
Hunting strategy
Ambush predator that captures prey with its sticky tongue or by active snapping.
Spawning substrate
Spawn clumps attached to aquatic plants in sunny, shallow shore zones.
Overwintering
Terrestrial overwintering in burrows, under moss, leaf litter, or dead wood near water bodies.
Ecology
Ecological role
Important regulator of insect populations and significant prey for birds, reptiles, and small predatory mammals.
Natural predators
Grass snake, grey heron, white stork, northern pike, martens, various birds of prey.
Competitor species
Edible frog (hybrid), marsh frog (competition for habitat and food).
Ecosystem service
Natural pest control through the consumption of mosquitoes and other insects.
Threats
Habitat loss due to drainage, eutrophication of water bodies, pesticide use, and scrub encroachment of breeding sites.
Scientific profile
Profile
Distinguishing features
Large, hard, semicircular metatarsal tubercle (callus internus), often exceeding half the length of the first toe. Males possess paired, white vocal sacs.
Role in food web
Important secondary consumer and significant prey resource for birds, snakes, and predatory fish.
Protection & threats
Main threats
Destruction and drainage of bogs, siltation of small water bodies, fish stocking in breeding ponds, and use of pesticides in agriculture.
Population trend
Declining in large parts of Central Europe, particularly due to the loss of specialized bog and heath habitats.
Conservation measures
Protection and restoration of bogs, creation of fish-free small ponds, preservation of buffer zones around breeding waters.