---
title: "What the sources say about the Common Frog | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "41 claims from the Common Frog profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/common-frog-1.webp"
canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/common-frog/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the Common Frog (*Rana temporaria*)

> 41 claims from the Common Frog profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Common Frog](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/common-frog/)

## Ogrodowczyk et al. (2024). Rana temporaria. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2024: e.T173101508A200721782.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2024-2.rlts.t173101508a200721782.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The common frog is rated Least Concern by the IUCN | Least Concern (LC) (note: Red List category read through GBIF's copy of the Red List (taxon id 173101508 matches the DOI); the assessment is the 2024-2 edition named in the DOI; GBIF check, no page quoted beyond the category.) |
| Least Concern | Least Concern (LC) (note: GBIF copy of the Red List, taxon 173101508.) |

## Common Frog (Rana temporaria). Froglife.

https://www.froglife.org/info-advice/amphibians-and-reptiles/common-frog/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| sits out winter under rocks or buried in pond mud | During winter they hibernate under rocks, in compost heaps, or underwater buried in mud and vegetation. |
| it winters under rocks or buried in pond mud and lives as far north as the Arctic Circle | they hibernate under rocks, in compost heaps, or underwater buried in mud and vegetation |
| In Britain it gets through winter tucked under rocks, in compost heaps, or down in the pond, buried in mud and plants | During winter they hibernate under rocks, in compost heaps, or underwater buried in mud and vegetation. |
| Froglife says it does not hibernate as such, and on a mild day it may pop out to forage | They don’t hibernate as such, and may take advantage of milder patches of weather to come out and forage. |
| In Britain, males grow up to 9 cm long and females up to 13 cm | Adult males grow up to 9 cm in length and females up to 13 cm in length. |
| The skin is smooth and the legs are long, built for jumping away fast | Common Frogs have smooth skin and long legs for jumping away quickly. |
| They are usually olive-green or brown with a dark mask behind the eye, but yellow, pink, red, lime-green, cream and black frogs turn up too | Usually a shade of olive-green or brown (although can be yellow, pink, red, lime-green, cream or black). Dark patches on the back, stripes on the hind legs, and a dark ‘mask’ behind the eye. |
| Froglife says a British spawn raft often holds up to 2,000 eggs, each small black egg wrapped in a clear jelly capsule about 1 cm across | Deposit ‘rafts’ of spawn, often containing up to 2000 eggs. Each small black egg is surrounded by a clear jelly capsule around 1 cm across. |
| In Britain, adults leave their winter spots in early spring and head straight to a pond | Adult frogs emerge from their overwintering sites in early spring and head straight to a pond to breed |
| Males may piggyback on a female on the way there | Males have a single vocal sac under the chin and may ‘piggy back’ to the pond on a female. |
| Eggs go in as early as January in south-west England, and two to four weeks later, depending on the weather, the tadpoles hatch | Clumps of spawn (eggs) are laid in ponds anytime from January (in south-west England) onwards. Depending on local weather conditions, two to four weeks later tadpoles will hatch out. |
| Tadpoles start black, then pick up gold-brown speckles | Common Frog tadpoles are black when they hatch but develop light bronze speckles as they mature. |
| They eat algae and water fleas | They feed on algae and water fleas. |
| After about 16 weeks they grow back legs, then front legs, and leave the water as tiny froglets, usually in early summer | After around 16 weeks the tadpoles start to grow back legs, followed by front legs. When they have fully absorbed their tails they leave the water as tiny froglets, usually in early summer |
| Frogs reach breeding age at 2 to 3 years old | frogs reach breeding age at 2-3 years old |
| Adults mostly feed at night on a wide variety of invertebrates, especially slugs and snails | Tend to be most active at night when they feed on a wide variety of invertebrates. |
| Froglife lists habitat degradation and introduced disease as threats | Threatened by degradation of habitats and the introduction of disease. |
| calls garden ponds extremely important to it, especially in towns | Garden ponds are extremely important for common frogs, particularly in urban areas. |
| Froglife says a raft often holds up to 2,000 eggs | Deposit ‘rafts’ of spawn, often containing up to 2000 eggs. |
| In the UK the tadpoles hatch two to four weeks later, depending on the local weather | Depending on local weather conditions, two to four weeks later tadpoles will hatch out. |
| Froglife's British figures put males at up to 9 cm long and females at up to 13 cm | Adult males grow up to 9 cm in length and females up to 13 cm in length. |
| In Britain, the winter hideouts are under rocks, in compost heaps or at the bottom of ponds | Common Frogs spend the winter sheltering under rocks, in compost heaps or at the bottom of ponds. |
| Froglife says it is not hibernation as such. In milder spells they may come out to forage | They don’t hibernate as such, and may take advantage of milder patches of weather to come out and forage. |
| Common frogs lay their spawn in rafts | Deposit ‘rafts’ of spawn |

## Common frog (Rana temporaria). Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust.

https://www.arc-trust.org/common-frog

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| slugs | Common frogs feed on a variety of invertebrate prey, slugs and snails particularly. |
| especially slugs and snails | Common frogs feed on a variety of invertebrate prey, slugs and snails particularly. |
| Away from breeding time, a frog may wander as far as 500 metres from its pond | Outside of the breeding season they can roam up to 500 metres from a breeding pond. |

## Rana temporaria. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Rana_temporaria/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The frog that lives as far north as the Arctic Circle | live as far north as the Arctic circle in Scandinavia, farther north than any other amphibian in the region |
| Almost any damp habitat across Great Britain, Europe and northwestern Asia, from wet meadows to mountain lakes | can be found in just about any damp habitat within its range, though they are more common in cooler upland forests and wet meadows. They are the most common frog in mountain lakes. |
| The common frog (Rana temporaria) lives across Great Britain, Europe and northwestern Asia | is a common terrestrial frog in Great Britain, Europe and northwestern Asia |
| Insects, wood lice, spiders, slugs, snails and worms | eats insects, their larvae, wood lice, spiders, snails and worms |
| Animal Diversity Web says it reaches the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia | live as far north as the Arctic circle in Scandinavia |
| Animal Diversity Web gives an average mass of 22.7 g | Average mass 22.7 g |
| In breeding season males develop blue patches on the back and throat | Males develop blue patches on their back and throat during breeding season. |
| They find worms by smell | They are able to detect worms by smell. |
| This frog copes well with cold climates | They are resistant to cold climates |

## AnAge entry for Rana temporaria. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Human Ageing Genomic Resources.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Rana_temporaria

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| AnAge lists 27 years as the maximum longevity for the species, and says frogs in the wild may live up to 14 years | Maximum longevity 27 years ... In the wild, these animals may live up to 14 years |
| Wild frogs may live up to 14 years, according to AnAge, which gives 27 years as the maximum for the species | Maximum longevity 27 years ... In the wild, these animals may live up to 14 years |
| By its figures, males and females both mature at about 3 years old | Female sexual maturity 1,095 days Male sexual maturity 1,095 days |