Agile frogs have a maximum length of 9 cm. They are slender in appearance and have very long rear legs. Upper surfaces are beige, light brown or olive brown sometimes with darker blotches, underneath they are white or cream and variably spotted. Long head with pointed nose with a dark brown band that becomes progressively broader as it runs back from the nose through the eye. Eyes have large horizontal pupils and the rear legs have darker horizontal bands.

Rear leg length is considerably longer than the Common frog.

They are found in all regions of France where there is water, which they seldom move far from, making existing habitat conservation where its presence is known extremely important.   Outside of the breeding season they rarely travel more than 200 metres from the water. Diet is mainly earth worms, small slugs and insects. They can be active around dawn and dusk but during hotter weather they tend to be nocturnal. The male has no voice sacs and the females call is rather subdued. Hibernation takes place from October until the end of January, but is not the same for the two sexes, males spend the winter in the silt at the bottom of pools, females seek out a hole in the ground or some other cavity on land. When in danger they are capable of leaping as far as two metres.