Frog v. toad: A confusing case of rules and exceptions

I’m Claire and I’m back to tell y’all about a question that I get regularly from people, “What’s the difference between a toad and a frog?” I think this is a great question that has a kind of confusing answer.

Frogs and toads are part of a group of amphibians that are called anurans. As adults they lack tails, separating them from salamanders or caecilians (limbless amphibians that look a lot like worms). Anurans can be found across most of the world, and here in the Southeast we have a whole bunch of them! Just in Georgia alone we have over 30 native species.

All species of anurans have bodies that are adapted to different environmental niches (roles that are part of the ecosystem) where they deal with varied prey, predators, access to water, and physical obstacles. These physical adaptations are what we generally use to identify a frog vs a toad when just looking at one. Here is a set of guidelines you can use to guess which anuran you are looking at.

1. Toads have bumpier and dryer skin than frogs (except for sometimes).

2. Toads live on land and frogs live in water (but not always).

3. Toads hop, walk, or dig with short legs and frogs jump or swim with long legs (with exceptions).

4. Typically, toads will lay their eggs in strings and frogs will lay their eggs in masses or clumps (most of the time).

These guidelines are extra confusing given that there are Families of anurans that are called the True Frogs (Ranidae) and True Toads (Bufonidae). However, most anurans don’t belong to either of these families! Scientists use genetics to determine which anurans are most closely related to each other so they can organize them into groups.

True Toads (Bufonids) can be distinguished from other groups by the presence of an internal structure called a Bidder’s organ, though a few species don’t have it (there are always exceptions in science). This organ is found near the gonads (reproductive organs) in both male and female Bufonids. It is comprised of ovarian tissue, tissue that typically forms eggs in females. However, the Bidder’s organ does not produce viable eggs for the toad to lay. Scientists aren’t sure what the true purpose of this structure is currently, but they might find out in future studies!

I hope y’all found this info helpful, but if y’all are still confused, I think a great idea would be to come and see all the anurans we have over at Georgia eXtremes and Scaly Slimy Spectacular! We have southern toads, evergreen toads, Panamanian golden frogs (actually a toad), red-eyed tree frogs, poison dart frogs and more! Come decide for yourself who should be called a toad and who is a frog.

Claire T.
Keeper I, Herpetology