The Sahara frog (''Pelophylax saharicus'') is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

in the family Ranidae. It is native to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

, Spanish North Africa (Ceuta and Melilla), and

Western Sahara Western Sahara is a territorial dispute, disputed territory in Maghreb, North-western Africa. It has a surface area of . Approximately 30% of the territory () is controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); the remaining 70% is ...

; it has also been introduced to

Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, a Spain, Spanish archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa. the island had a population of that constitut ...

. In French it is called ''grenouille verte d'Afrique du Nord'', and in Spanish it is known as ''rana verde norteafricana''.

Description

The Sahara frog is a large species, an exceptional female from Morocco having a snout-to-vent length of . It is sometimes confused with Perez's frog (''Pelophylax perezi''), and the published description may be partially of that species. The head is as wide as it is long, the snout is oval and the eyes have horizontal pupils. Males have a pair of vocal sacs on the throat. A ridge connects the nostrils and upper eyelids and continues to the groin, separating the back from the flanks. The hind feet are webbed. The colour is variable, being reported as green, brown or mixed, sometimes with darker spots. Some frogs have a yellowish or greenish line along the spine. The legs are always spotted or barred.

Distribution and habitat

The Sahara frog is native to North Africa where its range includes Western Sahara, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. It is aquatic and found in and near streams, oasis pools, irrigation canals, lakes, and other water bodies.

Status

The Sahara frog is abundant where a suitable wetland habitat is present. Though its population has remained steady, over-exploitation and pollution of water sources could threaten the species in the future. The

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

has assessed its conservation status as being of "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

". A population was discovered in 2021 in the Etang de Berre wetland in Southern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, spreading to several localities, reproducing and present since 2011 at least, and is considered there an invasive species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q774597 Pelophylax Amphibians described in 1913 Amphibians of North Africa Vertebrates of Egypt Fauna of Libya Fauna of Western Sahara Taxonomy articles created by Polbot