An investigation on the reproductive biology of Rana macrocnemis pseudodalmatina (Amphibians: Anura) in Golestan province (Minudasht)

The study of reproduction of animals is a fundamental procedure for biologists to answer many questions about biology of animal taxa. Because of the importance of amphibians in biological studies, thus we studied the biology of reproduction in Rana macrocnemis pseudodalmatina (Eiselt & Schmidteler, 1971) belonging to the family of Ranidae. This species is found in the jungles of the northern part of the country Golestan province. In this survey after extensive field works (including determination of the time and place of egg-laying and the number and weight of the laid eggs) and laboratory studies (histological examinations of male and female gonads in different seasons) we focused on the reproductive activities in this species. Our results suggested the major reproductive activity of this species takes place in autumn and winter and that it lays its eggs in late winter.