Can you tell the difference between a frog and a toad? Let’s put these two species of amphibians into an ultimate battle of comparisons! Frogs and toads may look similar but there are many differences between them! In this article we will discover the many differences and even some similarities between frogs and toads!
Frogs and toads are classified under the same Order within the animal kingdom; Anura. Under that Order frogs are considered the family Ranidae or “True Frogs”. Toads are in the family of Bufonidae and are considered “True Toads”. But they are both similar in that they first hatched from eggs that are laid in water.
One of the biggest differences that make it easy to distinguish a frog from a toad is what their skin looks like. A frog tends to have moist and smooth skin while toads have dry, bumpy, and usually warty skin. Don’t fret, you cannot get warts from touching a toad!
Another really easy way to tell a frog from a toad is when you look at a frog’s legs! Their legs are long and very powerful for jumping. Toads’ legs in comparison are usually shorter and stumpier. Toads will hop around rather than jump far distances.
So how do you know if you have frogs or toads living in your pond if all you can see are eggs? Easy! Frogs lay their eggs in more of a cluster under the surface of the water, while toads actually lay their eggs in long chains. Some toads do not even lay any eggs but will actually give birth to LIVE young!
The habitat of these two amphibians are fundamentally very different as well. While they are both hatched from eggs out of the water, a frog and toad change their habitats when they grow legs. A frog needs to live near some body of water, while a toad can survive in a drier climate. Frogs are most abundant around bodies of water with many of them living at the water’s edge. The highest population of frogs can be found in tropical forests reaching nearly 5,400 different species! Tropical rainforests stay moist all the time making it the perfect environment and home for all sorts of frogs.
In the words of one famous frog, “It’s not easy being green”. Although green is a common color for most frogs, they can range from any color of the spectrum. Some of the most eye-catching frogs are brightly colored and dressed in vivid yellows, blues, reds, oranges and purple, some with lovely patterns of spots or stripes. These beauties have much too visually admire, but they can’t be touched. Their noticeable coloration serves as a warning to predators to stay away. The most poisonous animal on earth is probably the Golden Poison Frog from Central and South America: There’s enough poison in just one of these frogs to kill 10 people!
Some frogs are considered a delicacy by some cultures! Records show that frogs’ legs were a common foodstuff in southern China as early as the first century AD. It wasn’t until the 12th Century when they started to appear as a delicacy in French cuisine. Toads cannot be eaten in the same way that frogs are. A toads skin will actually give out a bitter taste and a smell that burns like a skunk. This is the reason why toads don’t have many predators!
The end of the frog versus toad battle has come! So who wins this ultimate battle of comparisons? Neither one! Frogs and toads equally as cool and fun to learn about. So now when someone says “what are the difference between frogs and toads” you’ll be able to tell that person all that you have learned from this article!