Common Frog (Rana temporaria)

Copyright: Howard Inns

Possibly our most familiar amphibian, the Common Frog is distributed throughout Britain and Ireland and can be found in almost any habitat where suitable breeding ponds can be found. Garden ponds are now extremely important for Common Frogs and many populations in suburban areas depend on them.

Adults can grow to almost 8cm and are generally some shade of brown or olive brown in colour with a dark patch behind the eye and bands of darker colour on the back legs. Most individuals have irregular black markings on the back and two narrow lighter stripes running along each side of the back. Coloration is extremely variable and in recent years yellow, pink and orange individuals have been reported.

The life cycle of the Common Frog is familiar to most people; spawning takes place on average in March, the tadpoles develop throughout the summer and emerge as froglets in wet weather in August or September. Well-grown tadpoles are faintly speckled with gold which distinguishes them easily from the black tadpoles of the Common Toad. Common Frogs feed on a variety of invertebrate prey which is mostly caught at night. The frog’s skin is smooth and needs to be moist at all times which limits this species to habitats close to fresh water or habitats that remain damp throughout the summer.

In Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Common Frog is protected only in as much as sale and trade in any form is prohibited.