Yeah, I know frogs are meant to be prettier than toads, but is there a scientific background to this delineation between two very similar species? Does it have something to do with their place of residence ie. amphibious or non-amphibious, or is it a moniker (namely the toad) borne from folklore, as in toads are ‘evil’ and used by witches, warlocks and the like.
Frogs and toads actually have more in common than they have in differences. Telling a frog and toad apart is really comparing it to the early common frog or common toad. Though frogs and toads are different species, they both belong to the same family. Both are amphibians, and both like the water, though frogs spend a later portion of their lives in water. The toad may hop farther from the water source however, and are frequent visitors to people’s gardens.
One way to tell the difference between a frog and toad is skin texture. The toad tends to have dry, bumpy, and possibly warty skin. The frog conversely has smooth skin. A frog pulled out of the water tends to feel relatively slimy or velvety, depending on whether you’re talking to a fan of frogs. The expression slimy toad really doesn’t make much sense, since toads simply do not feel slimy to the touch.
Another difference between the frog and the toad is the location of poison sacs behind the eyes of the toad. Some frogs are poisonous to the touch, for example, the poison dart frog of South America. Handling these cute red frogs is not recommended, though it would be unlikely to cause death.
Animals often discover that biting a toad is highly unpleasant. Dogs frequently mouth toads found in yards and get a dose of poison from the eye region. If one sees a dog bite something on the ground and start foaming at the mouth immediately, chances are he has tried to snack on a toad. Usually this poison is not significant enough to do more than disgust the animal for a few hours.
The toad tends to have a shorter body, and its legs are often described as stubby or muscular. Frogs on the hand tend to have longer legs, and can be distinguished from the toad by their webbed back feet. The frog’s eyes tend to be protuberant. The toad has more recessed eyes.
One type of toad, the nectophrynoides, which is found in Tanzania, can do one thing no frog can do. It bears live young. Most toads, however, lay eggs just like frogs. If one encounters a clutch of frog or toad eggs, one can usually tell them apart by the clustering. Frog eggs are laid in tight circular batches. Toad eggs are usually laid in long strings.
January 20th, 2010 at 12:24 am
Frogs and toads actually have more in common than they have in differences. Telling a frog and toad apart is really comparing it to the early common frog or common toad. Though frogs and toads are different species, they both belong to the same family. Both are amphibians, and both like the water, though frogs spend a later portion of their lives in water. The toad may hop farther from the water source however, and are frequent visitors to people’s gardens.
One way to tell the difference between a frog and toad is skin texture. The toad tends to have dry, bumpy, and possibly warty skin. The frog conversely has smooth skin. A frog pulled out of the water tends to feel relatively slimy or velvety, depending on whether you’re talking to a fan of frogs. The expression slimy toad really doesn’t make much sense, since toads simply do not feel slimy to the touch.
Another difference between the frog and the toad is the location of poison sacs behind the eyes of the toad. Some frogs are poisonous to the touch, for example, the poison dart frog of South America. Handling these cute red frogs is not recommended, though it would be unlikely to cause death.
Animals often discover that biting a toad is highly unpleasant. Dogs frequently mouth toads found in yards and get a dose of poison from the eye region. If one sees a dog bite something on the ground and start foaming at the mouth immediately, chances are he has tried to snack on a toad. Usually this poison is not significant enough to do more than disgust the animal for a few hours.
The toad tends to have a shorter body, and its legs are often described as stubby or muscular. Frogs on the hand tend to have longer legs, and can be distinguished from the toad by their webbed back feet. The frog’s eyes tend to be protuberant. The toad has more recessed eyes.
One type of toad, the nectophrynoides, which is found in Tanzania, can do one thing no frog can do. It bears live young. Most toads, however, lay eggs just like frogs. If one encounters a clutch of frog or toad eggs, one can usually tell them apart by the clustering. Frog eggs are laid in tight circular batches. Toad eggs are usually laid in long strings.
References :
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-difference-between-a-frog-and-a-toad.htm
January 20th, 2010 at 12:31 am
Frogs and toads both belong to the amphibian order Anura (tailless amphibians), one of three living orders of amphibians. All living amphibians are also called Lissamphibians, to distinguish them from the extinct amphibians. The other two living orders are the Caudata (tailed amphibians; salamanders and newts) and the worm-like Caecilia (caecilians).
Within Anura, there are many families of frogs and toads, but only two English words to describe them. Strictly speaking frogs refer to the anuran family Ranidae only, whereas toads only refer to the anuran family Bufonidae. Since there are so many different families of anurans but only two English words to describe them, scientists have used the terms frog and toad more liberally to refer to the anurans. Generally speaking, if an anuran has a slim body and long legs, it is referred to as a frog. Those with a squat body and short legs are referred to as toads, even though they are not closely related to the true toads or bufonids. There are a few exceptions of course. Although horned frogs look more like toads, they are called frogs because the term horned toads had been used by non-scientists to describe the squat bodied horned lizards of the Southwestern United States.
In short, the terms frog and toad are not formal scientific terms. They are common names that are loosely used to describe any amphibians within the order Anura. Another name that has been used to describe anurans is treefrog. It, too, is not a formal term, because treefrog has been used to describe both Old World treefrogs of the family Rhacophoridae and the New World treefrogs of the family Hylidae. The rhacophorids are more closely related to ranid frogs and the hylids are more closely related to the bufonid toads. Recognizing this fact, some scientists referred to the hylid treefrogs in the past as "tree toads" but this term has fallen out of fashion and is no longer used.
References :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Anuran_families
January 20th, 2010 at 12:38 am
Toads are smarter and make good friends while frogs are not (not a joke)
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January 20th, 2010 at 1:02 am
A Toad is a land animal that pees on your hands when catching him. A Frog is a water animal that is very hard to catch and much nicer.
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January 20th, 2010 at 1:38 am
a frog jumps farther because its back legs are bigger than a toads. a toad usually doesn’t swim(unlike frogs), some hide in burrows( like the 1 in my backyard).
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January 20th, 2010 at 1:43 am
Basically a toad is terrestrial.
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January 20th, 2010 at 2:25 am
While toads sometimes live near water, frogs can live in and out of the water. Frogs are also bigger, in general than frogs. Try here.. It has information on both, and has links to other sites that do too.
http://42explore.com/frogs.htm
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