Amphibians
Parsley Frog
Pelodytes · also called parsley frog
A parsley frog looks like a small brown frog that has been dusted with chopped herbs — its grey skin scattered with vivid green flecks. It belongs to a tiny, ancient frog family, it climbs rock and brickwork without the sticky toe pads a tree frog uses, and it breaks the usual frog calendar by often breeding in autumn.
Overview
Parsley frogs are the family Pelodytidae — only about three species, an old branch of the frog tree now found only in southwestern Europe and the Caucasus. They are small, slim, long-legged frogs of open country with shallow, sunny water — farm ponds, ditches, flooded ruts, stone troughs — and they hunt small invertebrates at night in damp grass.
Green flecks and climbing
The bright green patches on a grey ground give the frog its name and camouflage it among moss and low plants. Despite having no adhesive toe pads, it is an agile climber of rock, walls, and vegetation, and it walks and runs as readily as it hops.
An autumn breeder
Most European frogs spawn once, in spring. The parsley frog has a long season and, in mild areas, often breeds again in autumn with the returning rains. Tadpoles from a late clutch may overwinter in the pool and finish the next year, by which time they can be larger than the adults.
Status
Least Concern for the widespread Iberian and French species, though declining locally as small ponds are lost, polluted, or stocked with fish and crayfish. The Caucasian parsley frog has a much smaller range and is more vulnerable.
Parsley Frog: common questions
Why is it called a parsley frog?
Purely for its markings. The frog's grey or pale brown skin is covered with irregular patches and warts of a bright, fresh green, and the overall effect is of a frog that has been sprinkled with finely chopped parsley. The green flecks are good camouflage among moss, algae, and low leafy plants at the water's edge. The name is a direct translation of scientific and common names used across its range, and there is no connection to the herb beyond the resemblance.
How does a parsley frog climb without sticky toes?
Tree frogs climb using expanded pads on their toe tips that grip by wet adhesion, but the parsley frog has none of these and climbs by simple agility and grip. It is a small, light, long-limbed frog with strong toes and a good sense of balance, and it scrambles up rough rock, brickwork, tree bark, and dense vegetation much as a lizard would, wedging into cracks and hauling itself over ledges. It is also more inclined than most frogs to walk and run rather than hop, which suits moving over broken, vertical ground.
Do parsley frogs really breed in autumn?
Yes, which is unusual for a European frog. Most temperate frogs breed in a single burst in spring, but the parsley frog has a long, flexible breeding season and, especially in the milder Mediterranean parts of its range, many pairs spawn again in autumn when the rains return. Tadpoles from these late clutches often do not finish developing before winter and instead overwinter in the pool, feeding through cold spells and completing metamorphosis the next spring or summer, by which time they can be very large, occasionally larger than the adult frogs.
Where would I find a parsley frog?
In the warmer, drier parts of Spain, Portugal, and southern France, around small, shallow, sunlit water bodies, farm ponds, ditches, flooded wheel ruts, stream pools, old stone troughs, and cisterns, particularly ones without fish. They are nocturnal and quiet, hiding by day under stones, in wall cracks, and in shallow burrows, so the usual way to find one is to visit a likely pool after dark with a torch, listen for the faint creaking call, or turn stones and debris near the water's edge.