The common parsley frog (Pelodytes punctatus) is a species of frog in the genus Pelodytes. It lives in the Iberian region in south-western Europe. Description The common parsley frog (Pelodytes punctatus) is a very small and slender frog with long hindlegs, a flat head, and vertical pupils. Males tend to only reach 3.5 centimeters, whereas females are larger at 4.5 centimeters. The upper side of the body is variable in colour, usually with irregular green patches on a light brown, grey, or light olive background. Its earliest identification is believed to be from 1802. The frog's back is dotted with elongated warts, often in undulating longitudinal rows that can be orange along the flanks. Behind the protruding eyes and above the tympanum there is a short, small gland. It does not have parotid glands. The underside of the frog is white, and around the pelvis yellowy orange. They are fossorial, meaning they can live underground with limbs suited for burying and digging. In the mating season, males develop dark swellings on the insides of their digits and forelimbs, as well as on the chest. The males' forelimbs are stronger than the females. They are not completely cryptic like many other species but still are camouflaged in their environments. They have the ability to jump 50-70 centimeters in a single leap, and they are referred to as the "Mud-Jumper", or Modderkruiper, in Germany for this ability. Taxonomy The common parsley frog (Pelodytes punctatus) is a member of the Polodytia family and Pelodytes genus. There is only a single genus within the pelodytia family, and there are more extinct species and genera than there are currently living today in the phylogenetic tree. Their close relatives include other parsley frogs (Pelodytes atlanticus), the Lusitanian parsley frog; (Pelodytes caucasicus), the Caucasian parsley frog; (Pelodytes hespericus), the Hesperides' parsley frog; and (Pelodytes ibericus – Iberian parsley frog) as well as European spadefoot toads and megophryidae. Habitat and distribution These frogs can be found in France, Spain, Portugal, and a small part of Northwestern Italy (southern Piedmont and Liguria specifically). Their numbers are decreasing in Italy due to habitat changes that eliminate their breeding sites. They are also threatened and more at-risk in southern Spain and northern Portugal. There are other pelodytes species that inhabit similar regions, but earlier research and investigations differentiated the frogs into their unique species. In terms of habitat altitude, these frogs