Frog and Toad, By Arnold Lobel? The Differences Between Frogs and Toads!

*Frog and Toad, by Arnold Lobel. © Barns and Noble.

Frogs and toads are a very large, and diverse group of amphibians found throughout most of the world in temperate to tropical and sub-tropical regions, as well as semi-arid to even arid environments where one would think no amphibian could survive! They are a familiar and well-known group of animals to most, if not all, typically having short, compact, tailless bodies (in most species), smooth or sometimes dry, warty, non-scaly skin, the ability to call and vocalize using their ear-like tympanic membranes, and throat sacs, and their typically long and/or powerful hind limbs used for jumping or hopping.

There are well over 7,300 different species of frogs and toads worldwide, and they all belong to the scientific order of amphibians known as “Anura”, and there are undoubtedly many more which have yet to be, or have been only recently discovered and described. Some of the oldest, or earliest ancestors of these amphibians have dated back as far as the Permian age, some 265 million years ago, at least according to some bodies of research and molecular data!

But what is actually the difference, if any, between a “frog” and a “toad”? The best answer to this question is that there is not really a scientific, taxonomic, and/or evolutionary distinction between “frogs” and “toads”. Rather, these distinctions are used primarily in common, or colloquial usage, and as with “turtle” and “tortoise”, can have different meanings and different applications for different species of animals all depending on the English dialect or area of the world in which they are used.

However, according to our “popular culture” ideals, “frogs” are commonly believed to possess such traits as smoother, wetter, or moister, or slimier skin than “toads”, which are typically thought of as having dryer, wartier, or more lumpy skin. Sometimes, “frogs” are also thought to possess longer, more powerful hind legs for vastly greater leaps, than the relatively shorter hind limbs of “toads”, used more for “hopping” or “walking”.

There are, of course, many different exceptions to these rules for them to possibly be used or regarded with any scientific accuracy or reliability. Some species which have relatively wartier skin and lead more terrestrial, or land-dwelling lifestyles (as “toads” are also often commonly believed) are, by their name and classification “frogs”, while some species which are named “toads” might have warty skin, but lead a more aquatic to semi-aquatic lifestyle.

In scientific taxonomy and such nomenclature, there are several different families in which anurans commonly regarded as “toads” fall into, with the family Bufonidae perhaps encompassing the “true toads”, or what most might regard as such. Other families of “toads” can also include Bombinatoridae (or the fire-bellied toads), Alytidae (or the mid-wife toads), Rhynophrynidae (or the Mexican burrowing toads), Scaphiopodidae (the American spadefoot toads), and Microhylidae (or the Narrow-mouthed toads), as well as others.

With that said, perhaps the better way of illustrating “frog” and “toad” diversity is not side-by-side comparisons as in many other identification guides of what are most commonly thought of as such, but rather a sampling of several different species found throughout the world which may be called “frogs” or “toads”:

*American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus). An example of the most familiar and typical family of “frogs”, at least in North America and the United States (U.S.), Family Ranidae. © Nature.mdc.co.gov.

*American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus). An example of the most familiar and typical family of “toads”, at least in North America and the United States (U.S.), Family Bufonidae. © Nature.mdc.co.gov.