Species: American toad (Anaxyrus americanus); American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus)

What to look for

  1. Skin. Dry and rough on a toad, smooth and moist on a frog. This is the mark people notice first and the one that carries best in a photo.
  2. Behind the eye. Toads carry a parotoid gland there that secretes a toxin.
  3. Hind legs. Shorter on a toad, which hops or crawls. Long and powerful on a frog, which jumps or leaps a long way in one go.
  4. Hind feet. A frog has well-defined webbing between the rear toes, built for swimming. A toad's feet show little or none.
  5. Size, for scale. An American bullfrog runs 3.5 to 6 inches (9 to 15 cm) snout to vent, occasionally to 8.75 inches (22 cm), which is the large end of what either group reaches.
  6. Eggs, if you find them. Toads lay in long parallel strings like beads. Frogs lay singly, in clumps, in large masses, or as a film on the water surface.

Easily confused with

A smooth-skinned amphibian found far from water. Distance from water is a hint, not proof. Toads move a good distance from the pools where they hatched, while frogs stay close to the water's edge, so check the skin and the hind toes rather than the address.

A frog whose skin has dried in the sun. Dry-looking skin is not a toad on its own. Look behind the eyes for a parotoid gland and between the hind toes for webbing, and check whether the animal hops or leaps.

Where and when

Toads are the terrestrial half of the pair, moving well away from the pools where they hatched. Frogs stay closely associated with water and rarely stray far from the edge. Both live two lives, an aquatic tadpole stage and a semi-aquatic or terrestrial adult one, and both breed in flooded fields, ditches, woodland and prairie ponds and temporary pools, where males begin calling once temperature and humidity are right.

Keep your distance

A toad's parotoid gland secretes a toxin, so wash your hands after handling one and discourage a dog from mouthing it. Your state wildlife agency lists the amphibians in your area, including any that are protected.

Related signs

Sources