Food habits of the the Mountain frog, Rana macrocnemis (Amphibia, Ranidae), in Iran

Nutrition and nutritional relationships in amphibian populations are among the most important debates which are of the most significance among herpetologists. Any prolonged changes in food access can leave irreparable damage to amphibian life-history traits. Reduced energy intake can impact amphibians' physical growth, behavior, and habitat. The objective of the present study is to collect detailed information on the feeding habits of 65 specimens of the Mountain frogs (34 ♂, 31 ♀) by analyzing the stomach contents of individuals from 9 populations inhabiting range. The food habit of R. macrocnemis generally varies by the availability of surrounding prey items, and it is a foraging predator, the food of which consists largely of Coleoptera (mainly Carabidae, Dytiscidae and Haliplidae), Diptera (Muscidae) and Hymenoptera (Formicidae). study of stomach contents indicated the presence of terrestrial and aquatic prey items. Statistical results indicated that male and female toads had no significant difference in terms of diet.