Although Schneider and Haxhiu (1994) had difficulty distinguishing the voice of Pelophylax shqipericus from that of P. lessonae, morphology, allozymes, mtDNA sequences, and crossing experiments all indicate that P. shqipericus is distinct from P. lessonae. The species belongs to “lessonae” group and it is sister species to P. lessonae - based on mtDNA and ND3 sequences, 1378 b.p. (Plötner et al. 2012).

This species does not make hybridogenetic hybrids (Guerrini et al. 1997).

Global and European regional assessment: Vulnerable (VU)
EU 27 regional assessment: Not Applicable (NA)

The Albanian Water Frog (Pelophylax shqipericus) is endemic to the Balkan Peninsula, with a restricted distribution in coastal parts of Albania and southern Montenegro. It is assessed as Vulnerable because its extent of occurrence (EOO) is 10,387 km², its distribution is severely fragmented as a result of wetland habitat fragmentation, and there is continuing decline in the extent and quality of its habitat due to drainage of wetland habitats and aquatic pollution of waterways caused by agrochemical and industrial (including mining) contaminants. The Albanian Water Frog does not occur as native in the EU27 Member States and is therefore assessed as Not Applicable there.

This lowland species is endemic to Europe, where it is restricted as native to western coastal Albania and southern Montenegro at elevations below 500 m asl. Recent records have expanded its range within these countries (see Jablonski 2011, Sillero et al. 2014, Iković et al. 2016, Szabolcs et al. 2017, Saçdanaku et al. 2020). Its extent of occurrence (EOO) is 10,387 km².

There is evidence of its limited introduction to Umbria in Italy (Domeneghetti et al. 2013) and the possibility of introduction to Croatia (Koska 2016), although the latter requires confirmation and has been included in the distribution map but coded as 'Presence Uncertain'.

This species is considered to be quite rare (E. Mizsei pers. comm. September 2019) but it is very common in the places where it is present, often with P. ridibundus syntopically (J. Speybroeck pers. comm. October 2022).

Due to the decline in the extent and quality of habitat and over-collection for the pet trade, the population is suspected to be decreasing; a continuing decline in the number of mature individuals is inferred from the described threats. The species is considered to be severely fragmented due to the intense anthropogenic alteration of its wetland habitats, including drainage for illegal construction work or for sand extraction. It is not known if the species can successfully adapt to modified habitats, however, based on other species in the genus it is not likely to tolerate extensive changes to its wetland habitats (J. Crnobrnja-Isailović pers. comm. September 2019), and fragmentation is likely to lead to unviable fragmented subpopulations.

This species has been reported from heavily vegetated aquatic habitats including ditches, swamps, marshes, the edges of slow-flowing rivers and the shoreline of Lake Skadar and coastal areas of Albania where is able to use partly brackish habitats. It is not known if the species can successfully adapt to habitat modification, however based on other species in the genus it is not likely to tolerate extensive threat to its water habitat (J. Crnobrnja-Isailović pers. comm. September 2019). Breeding and larval development take place in these wetland habitats.

The major threat is the drainage and conversion of wetland habitats and the aquatic pollution of many waterways caused by agrochemical and industrial (including mining) contamination. Massive impacts, including illegal building (houses and hotels), excavation of sand, and solid waste disposal into water sources are widespread in Ulcinj, southernmost Montenegro (Polović and Čađenović 2014). Occurrence of B. dendrobatidis in Lake Skadar is another important threatening factor for this species, although it seems that it does not have a high impact on wild populations (Vojar et al. 2017). A review of potential threats is also presented in Crnobrnja-Isailović et al. (2018).

In the northern parts of its range (e.g., Lake Skadar) this species is significantly threatened by over-collection for commercial purposes for human consumption (Gratwicke et al. 2010, Haxhiu 2015, Auliya et al. 2023). The species is also collected for the international pet trade (Frank et al. 2018). An additional threat could be the accidental introduction of the commercially transported non-native water frog Aquarana catesbeianus, which may be competing with this species (J. Crnobrnja-Isailović pers. comm. September 2019). The species is collected for the food industry and by local people, even during the breeding season, for consumption in restaurants (Haxhiu 2015, Saçdanaku et al. 2020; D. Jablonski and E. Mizsei pers. obs.).

Albania represents the main distribution area for this endemic species. This species is distributed in a small range with a size of ~ 5,000 km² (Jablonski et al. 2021) and most of the species' range is limited to populated coastal areas where massive development has occurred in the past years and the species might be threatened mainly by fragmentation and degradation of habitats. Moreover, the area is also the main agricultural region of Albania, and drainage, chemical, and waste pollution are important factors that will decrease the population of P. shqipericus (Haxhiu 2015, Saçdanaku et al. 2020, Crnobrnja-Isailović et al. 2022).

This species is over-harvested for human consumption for both national and international purposes, and also collected for the international pet trade (Altherr et al. 2022).

Conservation Actions In Place
The species is present in the Lake Skadar protected area, on the border of Montenegro and Albania and coastal areas of Albania from Skadar to Orikum. It is listed on Appendix III of the Bern Convention. It is a protected species in Montenegro (Gvozdenović and Iković 2022) and considered Vulnerable in Albania (Anonymous 2013). It was under consideration for a CITES listing (Gratwicke et al. 2010), but this has not been successful to date.

Conservation Needed
Education on the disposal of waste for people living alongside the species, as well as the development of a harvest management plan will be beneficial for the conservation of this species (J. Crnobrnja-Isailović pers. comm. September 2019). Improved management of the protected areas is also recommended (J. Crnobrnja-Isailović pers. comm. September 2019).

Research Needed
Research on its population is required.