Here are a few head scratchers

[Vlad Cioflec]

Hi guys,

Found some pics of unidentified frogs on Balcanica.info, have a look:

http://en.balcanica.info/1-63-1

I know that my entry (id2370), second from the bottom, is a Rana temporaria, but the guys thought it looked like a dalmatina...

Also id2303, third from the top, sure looks like an esculentus.

But what do you think about theese?!

1)

Bulgaria, Rila Mts.jpg

2)

Greece , Corfu.jpg

3)

Greece, Limnos, Plaka.jpg

4)

Montenegro, Ursulovacko jezero.jpg

5)

Montenegro, Lake Skadar, Vranjina.jpg

6)

Serbia, Vojvodina, Pančevo.jpg

Have fun!

[Ilian Velikov]

OK, for the first one from Bulgaria:

It's a Rana sp., for sure!
There are 3 species of Rana in Bulgaria:
Rana dalmatina
Rana temporaria
Rana graeca

Rila Mts. are out of the range of R.graeca, so it's not!

The Grancar Cottage in Rila Mts. is at 2187 m a.s.l., which is pretty high for R.dalmatina. Besides,the skin on the back of R.dalmatina is smooth,unlike the skin of the frog from the photo,which has small tubercules. The only species from the 3 that has such tubercules and lives that high in the mountains is R.temporaria! Besides the snout looks shorter,less pointed and more rounded like in R.temporaria!..So,it's Common Frog (Rana temporaria)

I don't know about the others! They all look like Pelophylax ridibundus,to me! I find Pelophylax species hard to identify!

P.S. Vlad,your frog looks both like R.dalmatina and R.temporaria! The head(snout) looks like R.temporaria but since it's a juvenille individual the proportions are not like in the adults,so it's hard to say! Do you have other pictures of that frog?

[Vlad Cioflec]

Hi Ilian,
Thanks for your input.

Unfortunately that Rana temporaria shot is the only one i have, cause i`m not very fond of juveniles, but here`s the thing:
I`ve herped for years in that area, spring, summer and autumn. I know the place and it`s inhabitants by heart.
And that day there were four of us looking for herps. We only turned out lots of temporaria, as usual

The one from Corfu (No. 2) is either ridibundus or epeiroticus. Hard nut to crack though.
But the rest are all a mistery