About Pelodytes punctatus (Daudin, 1802)
The common parsley frog, Pelodytes punctatus, is a very small, slender frog with long hind legs, a flat head, and vertical pupils. Males usually only reach 3.5 cm (1.4 in) in length, while females are typically larger at 3.9 cm (1.5 in). The dorsal (upper) side of its body varies in colour, and usually has irregular green patches over a light brown, grey, or light olive background. Its back is dotted with elongated warts, which often form undulating longitudinal rows that may be orange along the flanks. A short small gland sits behind its protruding eyes and above the tympanum, and the species has no parotid glands. The underside of the frog is white, with yellow-orange colouring around the pelvis. Pelodytes punctatus is fossorial: its limbs are adapted for burying and digging to live underground. During the mating season, males develop dark swellings on the insides of their digits and forelimbs, as well as on their chest. Males also generally have stronger forelimbs than females. While not completely cryptic like many other frog species, common parsley frogs are still camouflaged in their native environments. They can jump 50–70 cm (19.5–27.5 in) in a single leap, and this ability gives them the common name "Mud-Jumper", or "Modderkruiper" in Germany. Common parsley frogs are found in France, northeastern Spain, and a small area of northwestern Italy, specifically southern Piedmont and Liguria. Their population is decreasing across their entire range, due to habitat changes that eliminate their breeding sites. The species is also at greater risk of threat in southern Spain and northern Portugal. The taxonomy of the genus Pelodytes is currently under discussion, with ongoing disagreement caused by separated lineages, particularly in different contact zones within the Iberian Peninsula. Their habitats range from sea level up to middle mountainous elevations between 1,630–2,000 meters (5,350–6,560 feet) above sea level. While they can survive across this full elevation range, they prefer to breed at lower elevations, around 60–460 meters (200–1,510 feet) above sea level. The habits of common parsley frogs vary between ecological niches, as their activity is heavily weather-dependent. Because of their wide range and flexibility in egg-laying and mating habits, local populations may have different activity and breeding date ranges than other populations of the same species in areas with different weather patterns. Metamorphosis can occur as early as January or February, and can last until March, depending on the population's distribution range. During metamorphosis, common parsley frogs show phenotype plasticity, partially because their breeding habitats are unpredictable. This plasticity, which refers to developing different phenotypes to best adapt to a local environment, leads to different body sizes and other physiological changes among individuals of the species. Young frogs from shallower ponds that dry more quickly develop different phenotypic characteristics, and drier ponds produce shorter larval periods for the species. Tadpoles that develop in ponds with consistent water depth tend to have larger body size, greater body depth, longer and deeper tails, and longer and deeper tail fins. These differences do not affect the survival rate of the frogs. After metamorphosis into toadlets, this trend continues: frogs from drier ponds are smaller. These size differences may affect other aspects of the frogs' lives, such as mating and fecundity. Other than the size differences noted, terrestrial life for common parsley frogs does not appear to be heavily impacted by these phenotypic changes. Many other anuran species show similar size and growth trends in relation to drying environments. However, the morphological changes and plasticity seen in common parsley frogs are notable, as these changes are confirmed to be mostly plastic rather than genetic or mutation-induced.
