Dittrich, C. & M.-O. Rödel

Description of female release calls of the European Common Frog, Rana temporaria (Anura: Ranidae). pp. 91-94

Abstract. Although anuran vocalizations, particularly male advertisement and territorial calls, are well studied, little is known about female anuran calling dynamics. During our mate choice behaviour study, we noticed two different calls that were emitted by female European Common Frogs, Rana temporaria. Herein, we confirm that females R. temporaria emit two different release calls when grabbed by a male. One with a higher dominant frequency, above 600 Hz, has previously been described by Brzoska et al. (1977). However, the second call, noticed by Savage (1934), has never been formally described. This low frequency call appears to imitate the male release call, potentially leading to a faster release of females from amplexus, and is here described for the first time.

Key words. Amphibia, Anura, mate choice, vocalization, male amplectant call, imitation.