Tadpoles can reach up to 190 mm (7.3 in) in length,[3] but this usually occurs in places with long winters where the tadpole has time to grow.They occur in a large part of Europe starting from western France and spreading out into the Middle East and about a quarter into Russia.

[3] Marsh frogs hibernate during the winter either underwater or in burrows, and are able to use the magnetic field of the Earth to locate breeding ponds.

[7] These frogs have been found to climb onto water buffalo so they could eat the flies attracted to it, hinting at a possible mutualistic relationship.

[8] As tadpoles, they eat a wide range of organic matter including algae, detritus, decaying plants, invertebrates, and dead animals.

[10] In places where they were introduced, marsh frogs may pose a threat to the native Pelophylax by diluting the gene pool, but there is evidence that although they may hybridize they do not affect the overall population that greatly.