Species of the Month: Common Frog Rana temporaria (March 2025)

The Common Frog Rana temporaria has been emerging from brumation and as many will have noticed begun to spawn. Our only resident for species of frog, the Common Frog, is easy to identify as having slippery smooth skin and very long back legs. Toads are dry skinned and have warts with two prominent swellings – the parotoid glands – behind the eyes. Frogs are anything but picky with their breeding habitat preferences, spawning in virtually any still or slow-moving fresh water. Often including irrational spots like temporary puddles and drains. Records of spawn and tadpoles are of equal value to recording adults and can help feed into our understanding of breeding sites and changes in phenology caused by climate change. Frogspawn is laid in clumps, whereas toads usually lay spawn in long strings. We know that nationally frogs and toads are generally spawning earlier than they used too, so with this in mind please do report any spawn that you find as it is all helpful in feeding into the changing local and national picture.

Common Frogs are perhaps one of SWSEIC’s best recorded species in terms of area coverage with the vast majority of 10km squares having records. None the less there are a few blank squares and there is much room left to fill on the 2km and 1km scale!

Malcolm Haddow

SWSEIC Support Officer