Marsh frogs are dam huge!

[Ukwildlifeo]

I was at oare marshes, N. Kent today and there wasnt much on show (bar a nice small flock of bar tailed godwits). But i looked in one of the drainage channels and ther was atleast 12 marsh frogs huddled together. But what struck me was the size of one in particular - it was atleast 15cm (6inches) long, not icluding its legs. No wonder there are no native frogs in the area!

[Ukwildlifeo]

Im back home now so I can post some photos of them now:


This is the biggest one - which ive worked out as 13cm long (as opposed to the 15cm i mentioned before - got a bit carried away im afraid - but 13cm is still big for a uk frog!) using the measurements of the gaps between the metal bars nearby and which the log the frog is sitting on goes through in another photo.


And this is a few of the other frogs in thisapprox 1m x 1m 'pool'

[Rich]

I work opposite Oare Marshes and sometimes go for a walk along the creek at lunch time. I've never seen any frogs, I'll have to look down more.

[Dogghound]

Rana ridibunda the marsh frog is Europe's biggest native frog, although what you saw will be about maximum size and will be a female as the males are fairly smaller in size.

[yellowhammer]

Nice shots chap

It's worth noting that Rana ridibunda is no longer a valid name, it has been changed to Pelophylax ridibundus. The taxonomy of European herpetofauna has undergone a lot of changes in the last few years, the others relevant to this country are;

Edible frog, was Rana esculenta, now Pelophylax esculentus
Pool frog, was Rana lessonae, now Pelophylax lessonae

Natterjack toad, was Bufo calamita, now Epidalea calamita

Smooth newt, was Triturus vulgaris, now Lissotriton vulgaris
Palmate newt, was Triturus helveticus, now Lissotriton helveticus

Common lizard, was Lacerta vivipara, now Zootoca vivipara

The rest stay the same

I live just up the road, and have been plotting the movements of the frogs for about 15 years now. They may not be native, but I think they're smashing. A couple of photos from earlier in the year;

[Ukwildlifeo]

Originally Posted by Rich

I work opposite Oare Marshes and sometimes go for a walk along the creek at lunch time. I've never seen any frogs, I'll have to look down more.

The best places to see them at Oare Marshes are in the concrete pond near Dans Dock, in the water near the path on the way to the West Flood Hide and where I took the above photographs, which is where the drainage ditch flows under the path by the sea sluice gate. You can usually hear them on a good day, thou its getting a bit late in thye year now

[Ukwildlifeo]

Originally Posted by yellowhammer

Nice shots chap

It's worth noting that Rana ridibunda is no longer a valid name, it has been changed to Pelophylax ridibundus. The taxonomy of European herpetofauna has undergone a lot of changes in the last few years, the others relevant to this country are;

Edible frog, was Rana esculenta, now Pelophylax esculentus
Pool frog, was Rana lessonae, now Pelophylax lessonae

Natterjack toad, was Bufo calamita, now Epidalea calamita

Smooth newt, was Triturus vulgaris, now Lissotriton vulgaris
Palmate newt, was Triturus helveticus, now Lissotriton helveticus

Common lizard, was Lacerta vivipara, now Zootoca vivipara

The rest stay the same

I live just up the road, and have been plotting the movements of the frogs for about 15 years now. They may not be native, but I think they're smashing. A couple of photos from earlier in the year;

Thanks, your shots are rather better thou!

I was unaware of the name changes so thanks for the heads up. And despite being non-native I rather fond of them too. There quite loud for such a small creature and have a rather odd call, but I like it.

[Ukwildlifeo]

Originally Posted by Dogghound

Rana ridibunda the marsh frog is Europe's biggest native frog, although what you saw will be about maximum size and will be a female as the males are fairly smaller in size.

Yea I had a look in a few guide books the first time I saw them. The only frog bigger in Europe is the American Bullfrog (obviously not native!). Has anyone ever seen one of them in the UK. I think theres a colony in Kent somewhere?

[Dogghound]

Ok cool yellowhammer wasnt aware, i never take much notice of latin names with vertibrates

Never a seen a bull frog, but afew were release in a local lake afew years back as far as i know they were sucessfully removed

[yellowhammer]

Bullfrogs can turn up anywhere - the tadpoles were often sold in garden centres until their import was banned. There is one record of them breeding on the Kent-Sussex border in 1999. There was a report of one from Northward Hill RSPB a few years ago but I haven't confirmed it yet.

The marsh frogs will still be about well into October, so there's plenty of time to see them this year. And remember, a big population of marshies inevitabley means a big population of grass snakes, so keep your eyes open!