Marsh Frog
Pelophylax ridibundus
A harmless water frog. It is Georgia's most widespread amphibian; look for it at marshes, canals, lakes and slow streams.
At a glance
Key facts in one look
Habitat
Marsh, canal, lake
Size
about 6–12 cm
Activity
At water, warm season
Venom
None — harmless
Conservation
Least Concern (LC)
Family
Ranidae
Human interaction: It is not venomous and is harmless to people. The skin produces mucus; that is a defence, not a medical venom. Do not handle it. Wash your hands after contact.
Overview
What is Marsh Frog
The marsh frog (Pelophylax ridibundus) is Georgia's most widespread harmless water frog. It belongs to the true frogs (Ranidae). At species level adults are usually about 6–12 cm from snout to vent; females are generally larger than males. A measured Georgian series is not on this page. It is not venomous. IUCN lists it as Least Concern. Look for it at open, warm water — marshes, canals, lakes, ponds and slow streams, including farm and town waters. A 1996 Georgian review treats it as nearly ubiquitous and cites 62 documented localities. 2024 samples come from Black Sea and Caspian basins and from the Greater and Lesser Caucasus. The 2026 checklist figure is Skuri, Tsalenjikha. Named sites also include Borjomi Canyon and the Tbilisi lowlands. Taxonomic note: older books used Rana ridibunda. Some papers treat P. bedriagae as a separate species; the 2026 Georgian checklist treats the species as P. ridibundus.
Last updated
Gallery
Marsh Frog in photos
Photo: Геннадий Дякин · iNaturalist
Almaty, Kazakhstan ·
Photo: Jakob Fahr · iNaturalist
Merag, Croatia ·
Photo: Aleksandar Urosevic
Photo: Vlad Muresan
Photo: Manuel Ruedi · iNaturalist
Gy, Switzerland (axanthic colour morph) ·
Photo: Giorgi Iankoshvili
Poti ·
Photo: Lasha Gogodze
Identification
How to identify Marsh Frog
A large, water-tied frog with smooth skin, a horizontal pupil and no sticky toe pads. In Georgia it is most often confused with the long-legged wood frog.
The body is stocky, the hind legs long, the toes webbed. There are no sticky discs on the toe tips — that separates it from treefrogs. At species level adults are usually about 6–12 cm from snout to vent; females are often larger than males. Georgian measurements are not on this page.
The back is green, olive, grey or brownish, often with dark spots. A pale stripe down the middle of the back is common. The belly is pale and sometimes dark-spotted. It usually lacks the dark mask behind the eye that brown frogs have. Colour varies; a green back alone is not enough.
The pupil is horizontal. The eardrum is visible. Two skin folds run along the sides of the back (dorsolateral folds). Males have a pair of grey vocal sacs at the mouth corners and a nuptial pad on the first finger in the breeding season. These marks help, but size and habitat should be used together.
The long-legged wood frog (Rana macrocnemis) is more a land and forest frog. It often has a dark temporal mask and stays away from open water outside the breeding season. The marsh frog stays at the water by day and jumps in when disturbed. AmphibiaWeb notes that the overlapping-heel test does not always work in Transcaucasian animals — this page does not rely on that character.
Eastern and yellow-lemon treefrogs are small, with sticky toe pads, and climb. Toads have warty skin and large glands behind the eyes. The Caucasian parsley frog and eastern spadefoot have vertical pupils.
Hyla orientalis
Eastern Treefrog
most of Georgia
Hyla savignyi
Yellow-Lemon Treefrog
south-eastern Georgia
Pelobates syriacus
Eastern Spadefoot
dry landscapes of eastern Georgia
Pelodytes caucasicus
Caucasian Parsley Frog
humid Caucasian forest
Rana macrocnemis
Caucasian Brown Frog
Forest and mountain waters
Bufotes viridis
Green Toad
Georgia — open country
Biology
Habitat, diet, behavior, and conservation
Habitat and range
This is a water frog and rarely leaves the water. The 1996 review records it in canals, streams and ponds; on treeless uplands of the Lesser Caucasus it is tied to relatively large pools and lakes. It prefers open, well-warmed shores with herbaceous cover. It is often abundant in farmland and towns. In Borjomi Canyon it belongs to the open-habitat spawning guild and lays more than one clutch in a season. Elevation is recorded from sea level to over 2,500 m; it is rare in the subalpine and alpine belts of the Greater Caucasus. The atlas map marks every administrative region — that reflects a wide range, not even density. Named points include Tsalenjikha (Skuri), Borjomi Canyon (about 900 m) and the Tbilisi lowlands. Egg-laying in the southern Georgian highlands is described at about 1,950 m. Six 2024 barcodes come from different parts of the country; exact coordinates are in that paper's figure and supplement. This page does not list every municipality.
Diet
A separate Georgian diet study is not on this page. At species level adults take invertebrates, mainly aquatic and shoreline insects. Large individuals sometimes take other amphibians, small fish or other small vertebrates. Tadpoles eat mainly detritus, algae and small invertebrates.
Behavior
By day it often sits at the water's edge or at the surface with the head showing. When disturbed it jumps into the water. It is more active in the warm season. At species level it often overwinters in water; in the south activity may continue in mild weather. A full Georgian winter calendar is not on this page. Breeding depends on water temperature and starts later than in most other amphibians. In the Tbilisi lowlands males call from late March and egg clutches are recorded from mid-April to late September. In Borjomi Canyon (about 900 m) the season runs from about early May to mid-July. In the southern highlands (about 1,950 m) eggs are laid from mid-June for about a month — these are named sites, not a single national calendar. Males have a pair of grey vocal sacs at the corners of the mouth; choruses carry far. If you find one, watch and leave it. Do not pick it up or move it between water bodies. Wash your hands after contact.
Conservation
IUCN lists it as Least Concern. It is not on Georgia's 2014 Red List. At species level it is relatively tolerant of pollution and persists in settlements. Local declines can follow drainage, concrete banks or loss of vegetated spawning shores. The 2026 checklist treats it as biologically confirmed. P. bedriagae is not accepted as a separate species here: Georgian mitochondrial sequences are closer to a West Asian and Balkan haplogroup that some authors call bedriagae than to typical Central European ridibundus (difference over 5%), but both haplogroups occur in the type area of the species. Do not assign a Georgian individual to bedriagae in the field.
Yes. The 2026 checklist treats it as biologically confirmed. The 1996 review records it almost throughout the country. Barcodes come from different parts of Georgia; the figure is Skuri, Tsalenjikha.
At marshes, canals, lakes, ponds and slow streams — from lowlands into the foothills, including villages and towns. It is scarce in high subalpine and alpine belts. The map marks every region, but density is not even.
No. It is not venomous and is harmless to people. Do not pick it up. Wash your hands after contact.
A medium to large frog at the water's edge, with smooth skin, a horizontal pupil, webbed toes and no sticky toe pads. It is often green or olive with dark spots. Forest brown frogs usually have a dark mask behind the eye and stay farther from open water.
The marsh frog stays in water and is often green. The long-legged wood frog (Rana macrocnemis) is browner, lives in forest and on land, and often has a dark patch behind the eye.
At species level adults are usually about 6–12 cm from snout to vent. Females are generally larger than males. Georgian measurements are not on this page.
In the warm season, at water. In the Tbilisi lowlands breeding is recorded from spring into autumn; it is later and shorter at higher elevations. A full Georgian winter calendar is not on this page.
Not in this checklist. Georgian taxonomy in 2024–2026 treats P. bedriagae as a junior synonym of P. ridibundus or a geographic subspecies. Use Pelophylax ridibundus in the field.
References
Sources
References
Sources
- Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026 — Annotated checklist of Georgia's amphibians and reptiles
- Tarkhnishvili, Todua & Iankoshvili 2024 — Pelophylax ridibundus species complex in the Caucasus
- Tarkhnishvili 1996 — The distribution and ecology of the amphibians of Georgia and the Caucasus
- Tarkhnishvili & Gokhelashvili 1999 — The amphibians of the Caucasus
- Tarkhnishvili 1993 — Anurans of Borjomi Canyon
- Frost — Amphibian Species of the World (Pelophylax ridibundus)
- AmphibiaWeb — Pelophylax ridibundus
- IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group — Pelophylax ridibundus
- საქართველოს მთავრობის დადგენილება №190 (2014) — წითელი ნუსხა
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
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