Toads and frogs are both families of amphibians belonging to the order Anurans. We can all easily make a mental image of these animals by mentioning them, but it is not always easy to differentiate between the two. When we talk about them, we all see those creatures with bulging eyes and strong hind legs, which move by jumping from one side to another. However, is this conception correct? Are there important differences between frogs and toads?
If you want to know more about these two families of anurans, join us in this article in which we talk about the difference between toad and frog in Dutch called verschil kikker en pad, offering you a summary, their characteristics and photos.
Difference Between Toad and Frog
If you were wondering what the difference is between toad and frog, pay attention to this list with the main differences that can be seen with the naked eye between these types of amphibians:
- Type of skin.
- Body shape.
- Limb shape.
- How to lay eggs.
- How do they move?
- Habitat.
The skin of toads and frogs
While frogs’ skin is smooth and shiny, always moist-looking, toads’ skin is thicker and coarser, covered in wart-like bumps. This is because toads are much more adapted to life away from water and their skin protects them. This, in addition, produces a peculiar bad smell and is in many cases poisonous to predators that bite it. However, there are also poisonous frogs.
Body and leg morphology
When we think of frogs, we imagine slender animals with agile bodies, with long and thin legs, especially developed in the case of the rear ones. With toads, on the other hand, the common thing is to be faced with species that are much more robust and forceful, more muscular and with shorter legs. The body of toads is shorter and rounder, while that of frogs is elongated by comparison.
How Toads and Frogs Lay Eggs
Although both families lay their eggs in the water, the frogs do so by forming clouds covered in a substance that holds the eggs together. Toads, on the other hand, lay their eggs in lines on the leaves of aquatic plants.
Displacement
Frogs are the queens of jumps, since their lower weight and their hind legs, compared to those of toads, allow them to propel themselves very easily. Also, some tree frogs have suction cups on their legs that allow them to climb easily. Toads, on the other hand, prefer to run or even bury themselves with their hind legs, as they are less agile.
Habitat
Both families are amphibious creatures, but while frogs barely stray from water sources because they are more dependent on humidity, toads can live for long periods of time on land, since their body has greater control to retain moisture. water on their bodies.
However, all these differences, especially those related to morphology and appearance, are only a guide: some frogs look like toads and vice versa, so only an expert will be able to tell them apart with complete certainty.
We recommend you take a look at these other Green Ecology articles about What animals are amphibians and where they are found and about How amphibians breathe.
Similarities between toad and frog
Of course, there are also several similarities between a toad and a frog:
Both are anuran amphibians.
They both lay eggs.
Its life cycle shares the metamorphosis from tadpole to adult.
They need moisture.
They breathe through the skin. In addition, when they are tadpoles, they combine this breathing with the gill and as adults they combine it with the lung.
The first three points can be grouped under the fact that, as they are different families of the same order, they share a good part of their life cycle. The life cycle of a frog and the life cycle of a toad are almost identical: despite their differences in the arrangement of the eggs, they both hatch as so-called aquatic, gill-breathing tadpoles. Throughout this phase they grow and develop legs and lungs, while losing their tail, ready to move on to the terrestrial adult phase. Find out more about this topic in this other article on the life cycle of a frog.
In addition, both need the humidity of the environment. Although frogs are much more dependent on water, toads also need it for the development of their young.
Both toads and frogs can breathe through their skin and, in addition, for adult lung breathing they are helped with throat movements. Here you can discover 16 animals that breathe through their skin.
Characteristics of toads
The main characteristics of the toads or Bufonid are:
They are more detached from the aquatic environment.
His skin is thick and rough, as if with warts.
They inhabit muddy areas where they can dig small galleries, and some of them have spurs on their hind legs to do so.
They don’t have teeth.
Behind the head are located the parotoid glands, which produce the toxins that give them their smell and poisonous effect.
Characteristics of frogs
The main characteristics of frogs or Ranidae are:
They have webbed fingers, with interdigital membranes (between the fingers), due to their greater adaptation to the aquatic environment.
His legs are also strong and skillful.
They can jump and also climb stones, plants and trees with agility.
Although it is not as common as in toads, some frogs are very poisonous, their poison being much more deadly than that of buffoons.
What is bigger a toad or a frog?
Toads are generally much larger, stockier and heavier species. There are, in fact, large toads that can feed on small rodents or snakes. Giant toads weighing almost 3 kilos have been recorded.
Therefore, generally, we can say that a toad is bigger than a frog, but that depends on the specific species that we are comparing.
The scorpion
The escuerzo, being the common escuerzo known scientifically as Ceratophrys ornata, is an anuran of the family of the ceratophryids that an inexperienced eye can easily confuse with a frog or a toad. It is also commonly called the pacman frog, due to its resemblance to the classic video game mascot, or horned toad.
They are highly aggressive species, with fangs and a carnivorous diet. They are found in the tropical zone of South America and have sizes between 12 and 17 cm.
