The Italian agile frog (Rana latastei ), also known as Lataste's frog, is a species of frog in the family Ranidae (true frogs). The species is native to southern Europe.
The specific name, latastei, is in honor of French herpetologist Fernand Lataste.
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Jumping (saltation) can be distinguished from running, galloping, and other gaits where the entire body is temporarily airborne by the relatively l...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withRana latastei may attain a head-body length of 7.5 cm (3.0 in). The throat is dark, with a light narrow central stripe.
Rana latastei is endemic to the plains of northern Italy, the extreme southern tip of Switzerland, the Istrian region of Slovenia, and adjacent Croatia. In Italy, populations are reported from four regions: Lombardy, Venetia, Piedmont and Friuli-Venezia Giulia, but the species is most abundant in the former two. Its distribution mainly follows the Po River plains and tributaries.
R. latastei is a decidedly lowland species and rarely occurs above 400 m a. s. l., only going up to the lower foothills of mountains, where the colder climate affects larval development. The Italian agile frog inhabits oak and hornbeam-dominated plain woods, hygrophilous woods and riparian woods characterized by white poplar and white willow trees. This types of woods may regularly inundate. It has also been reported from open habitats like wet meadows or peat bogs.
Between late February and mid-April, males and females gather at breeding sites. Reproduction activities occurs in small permanent or temporal water bodies with extensive aquatic vegetation or submerged plant material, such as ponds, ditches or floodplain puddles. The minimum water temperature for egg deposition is reported as 2°C, and eggs hatch after 10 to 15 days. As with other European frogs of the genus, metamorphosis is completed after circa 3 months. Females leave the breeding site immediately after spawning, whereas males and juveniles remain there for up to 5 weeks.
The IUCN lists this species as Vulnerable (VU). Major threats include habitat destruction and fragmentation, as it is highly adapted to the floodplain woods of the Po River basin. To enhance the protection of this species, several conservation areas were proposed in Italy, and frog tadpoles bred and translocated to suitable sites.
