The Pool Frog (Pelophylax lessonae) is a freshwater wetlands amphibian in the Ranidae family of water frogs.

The Pool Frog is green, olive or brown. On its back is a green line that runs from head to tail. There are small warts on its back. Its underbelly is creamy-white. It has a plump body with long hind (back) legs, and no tail. It has large, round, protruding eyes. It has webbed feet.

It grows to 3-5 centimetres (1-2 inches) long.

The Pond Frog is native to Europe, in countries such as Britain, Fance, Portugal, and Spain. It prefers temperate forests and shrublands, in wetlands, such as ponds, rivers, swamps, freshwater lakes, marshes, and flood plains. 

It is nocturnal, more active during the evening. During the day it hides under stones, in the mud, or among aquatic reeds. It eats insects at night. Its predators include birds, especially owls. 

It hibernates (sleeps) in winter.

The life cycle is egg, tadpole, and frog. The female lays 40-300 eggs in a still body of water, such as a pond. The male carries the eggs on his back, and keeps them wet. He enters pond when the eggs are ready to hatch. The eggs hatch in 5-15 days into tadpoles. The tadpoles undergo metamorphosis over about three months in which they lose their tail, transform their gills (that help them to breathe underwater) into lungs (that can breathe air), and grow legs. They change their bodies as they grow into adult toads. 

Location of photographs: Parc Zoologique de Paris in Bois de Vincennes, France

Photographer: Martina Nicolls

Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM