Discoglossus – Painted frogs

Native to the western Mediterranean region and parts of North Africa, painted frogs are most commonly found in Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Corsica, Sardinia, and Morocco. Their name reflects their most striking feature: a back “painted” with irregular blotches, stripes, or speckles in shades of green, brown, and black, often on a lighter background. No two individuals look exactly alike, making every painted frog a living canvas of nature’s creativity.

Painted frogs are generally medium-sized amphibians with sturdy bodies, short legs, and a somewhat pointed snout that sets them apart from the rounder-headed “typical” frogs. Their skin is smooth but can appear glossy, and their markings give them excellent camouflage among stones, vegetation, and muddy stream beds. Adapted to the Mediterranean climate, they inhabit temporary ponds, slow-moving streams, marshes, and even artificial water sources such as wells and cisterns, showing remarkable resilience to human-altered landscapes.

These frogs belong to the family Alytidae, along with the midwife toads, and together they represent some of the most primitive living frogs. The genus name means “disc-tongued”, referring to their relatively inflexible tongues, which lack the sticky tip found in most modern frogs. Instead of flicking their tongues out to catch prey, painted frogs rely more on lunging and snapping up insects, spiders, and other small invertebrates. This detail may seem small, but it places them as living reminders of early frog evolution, survivors of lineages that once spread widely across Europe.

Painted frogs also have a flexible lifestyle tied closely to rainfall. They are primarily nocturnal, emerging on damp nights to feed and breed. In wetter months, males call from the edges of ponds, producing short, harsh, rasping calls that contrast with the melodic trills of tree frogs or the deep croaks of common frogs.