Pelodytes caucasicus

A small stream-dwelling frog, limited to temperate rainforest areas. Strictly nocturnal. Breeds in slowly running parts of mountain rivers and brooks, or in forest puddles with clear cold water. Breeding season - May through October. Few hundreds of eggs in a clump. Tadpoles usually overwinter before metamorphosis.

An old Miocene relic with the restricted distribution. The closest relative of the species, Pelodytes punctatus, lives at the Atlantic coast of Europe, thousands of kilometers west from the range of P. caucasicus. Recent molecular genetic data suggest that the two species are isolated since Miocene.