Study of Reproduction of Iranian wood frog (Rana pseudodalmatina) in Mazandaran Province (Behshahr County)

Reproduction is an important feature in any of species. Amphibians have a significant role on the world and are of particular importance. Therefore, the present study is conducted on the reproduction of endemic Iranian wood frog Rana pseudodalmatina from family Ranidae in 2014-2015. The study area is in the south of Rostamkola, in Behshahr County, Mazandaran province. First, some studies were conducted on reproduction, season and location oviposition and reproductive period. Then laboratory studies were carried out to investigate cases including, weight for 13 clutches, the number of eggs for 10 clutches, the percent of embryos and unfertilized eggs for 9 clutches, the mean diameter of 20 eggs with jelly and without jelly for 5 clutches, the mean length of larvae for 2 clutches, duration of conversion of hatched larvae to froglet for 7 clutches, as well as the season of the metamorphosis completion. The results showed that amplexus is axillary, and laying eggs starts from early February to late March, and metamorphosis completion from early April to mid-June continues. The number of clutches eggs 539-1129 (mean 872.80), clutches weight 301-401 (mean 198.92) gr, the percent of clutches embryos 19.59-92.56 (64.4982 mean), the percent of clutches unfertilized eggs 7.44-80.41 (mean 34.4322), the diameter of the egg with jelly 5.55-7.27 (mean 6.6420) mm, the diameter of the egg without jelly 1.71-2.23 (mean 1.9860) mm, larvae’s length at hatching time 9.91-10.50 (mean 10.2050) mm, and conversion of the hatched larvae to froglet lasted 57-113 (mean 83.43) days.