Common Frog

Latin name: Rana temporaria

Size: 6-9cm fully grown

Lifespan: -10 years, but often shorter as they are preyed on by other animals.

Diet: Invertebrates such as insects, and sometimes other small amphibians.

Habitat: Damp environments such as ponds, streams, wetlands and marshes. In the UK frogs will overwinter for about 3 months in muddy burrows or even in the debris at the bottom of ponds or lakes with a gentle current.

Did you know? Frogs are well known for their lifecycle; the female laying eggs which are then fertilised by the male as she lays, hatching into tadpoles which then metamorphose into miniature frogs over the course of about 3 months.

This begins with the male frogs trying to attract a mate. Whilst the males do change colours slightly in mating season, becoming a more greyish blue, it’s their croaking that wins their bride. The longer and louder the better!

When the female has picked her chosen male, she’ll typically lay 1,000-2,000 eggs, but it has been known for female frogs to lay up to 4,000.