Edible Frogs

I thought I'd try to clarify something that came up on recent Hungary tours I have led. We heard and saw a lot of Edible Frogs (Rana kl. esculenta). Now this amphibian is not a true species, it's a hybridogenetic form, the result of inter-breeding between marsh and pool frogs. Hence the “kl” in the scientific name, which means klepton and indicates a hybrid. Though composed of hybrids, populations of edible frogs are maintained because females mate with male pool or marsh frogs to produce young. Male edible frogs are, as it were, unable to contribute further. Edible frogs are common in wetlands in Hungary and geberally north of the central Balkans, the south of the range coinciding with that of the pool frog. By the way, it is not the only frog that is "edible". Ask any stork, egret or heron...