Its back is green, either olive-green or dark brown, with black or dark patches.
Ventral side is greyish or yellowish with black spots.
The life of the frog is closely connected with water. It leads its whole life in water leaving for mainland only in damp and warm weather. It prefers larger lakes with rich vegetation or quiet river bends. Although it stays most of the time in water, it feeds in the plants near the body of the water. It mainly feeds on insects and crustaceans but occasionally it eats fry, tadpoles, shrews, and the young of water birds.