''Rana longicrus'', also known as the Taipa frog or long-legged brown frog, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

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 distributed to northern and central

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

Description

''Rana longicrus'' is a slender-bodied frog with relatively long legs. Males measure and females in snout–vent length.

Reproduction

The breeding season in Aoti, northern Taiwan, is from November to March. The smallest mature male measured SVL and smallest gravid female SVL. Both sexes appear to reach this size by the end of their first year. Peak breeding occurred in December but is probably influenced by rain. Egg clutches of 600–2,000 eggs are laid in water. Metamorphosis occurs after about two months. However, survival to metamorphosis is low because of disturbance by human activities (plowing of ricefields) and by the desiccation.

Diet

''Rana longicrus'' feed primarily on arachnids and insect larvae and adults (often ants or beetles). In winter when they spend more time near water also crustaceans are eaten.

Habitat and conservation

''Rana longicrus'' occurs in

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

broad-leaf forests as well as cultivated fields below elevation. Breeding takes place in marshes, pools, and ponds. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

, in particular due to infrastructure development, but also pollution. It is currently protected in the

Yangmingshan National Park Yangmingshan National Park is one of the nine national parks in Taiwan, located in both Taipei and New Taipei City. The districts that are partially in the park include Taipei's Beitou and Shilin Districts; and New Taipei's Wanli, Jinshan ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1038854 longicrus Amphibians of Taiwan Endemic fauna of Taiwan Amphibians described in 1898 Taxa named by Leonhard Stejneger Taxonomy articles created by Polbot