The Albanian water frog (Pelophylax shqipericus) is a species of true frog (family Ranidae) and is native to Albania and Montenegro. As its common name suggests, it prefers aquatic environments. The Albanian water frog is an endangered species and known populations are currently in decline. Significant threats to its habitat are presented by pollution and by drainage of wetlands, and a more direct threat is the aggressive collection of the species for commercial purposes. The frogs are medium-sized and males sometimes bear a distinctive bright green stripe down the length of the backbone. Otherwise males are green to light brown in overall colouring with large black or dark brown spots. Females are olive green or light brown in colour and also bear brown or black large spots. As befits a species that prefers wetland habitats, the webbing on the feet extends to the tips of the toes. Taxonomy Pelophylax shqipericus was first described in 1987 under the name Rana shqiperica in the Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. The specific epithet shqipericus comes from Shqipëria, the Albanian word for Albania. Many species that were once included in the genus Rana were moved to separate genera at the beginning of the 21st century, when detailed molecular phylogenetic data made a distinction among the species more clear. P. shqipericus is one such species transferred from Rana to Pelophylax on the strength of the new DNA sequencing data. Distribution and habitat The Albanian water frog is endemic to the Balkans and primarily found only in western Albania and southern Montenegro, where it inhabits freshwater marshes, swamps, ditches, and the heavily vegetated shorelines of lakes and rivers. The northernmost part of its range is Lake Skadar, where its presence is significantly threatened by over-collection. Morphology Male Albanian water frogs are generally about long and colouration on the dorsal side is green to light brown. They bear large brown or black spots and sometimes also have a bright green vertebral stripe. The spots disappear or are much fainter during the breeding season, and dorsal colouration changes to olive or grass green. Their vocal sacs are only lightly pigmented, greyish or green. Females are larger with a mean size of about 74 mm, are light brown to olive green, and are also dorsally spotted. On the underside, yellow colouration is present around the groin, sometimes extending to the hind legs and the belly.