#713 What is the difference between a frog and a toad?

What is the difference between a frog and a toad? There are many differences between the two, although toads are actually a type of frog, which makes it a bit like asking what the difference between a dog and a Labrador is.

So, let’s start from the top. Frogs and toads belong to the order anura, which comes from Greek and means “without tail”. 88% of all amphibians belong to this order. There are approximately 5,000 species of frog and they live on every continent except for Antarctica. They are both amphibians.

The word frog comes from the Old English frogga, and it meant “to jump” or “hopper”. It came into English from Old Norse or Old German, so it has been around for a long time. The word toad, on the other hand, probably came into English as tadie in the 14^th century. It could have meant “small”, which is why it has remained in toad, toadstool, and tadpole. ]

So, how are frogs and toads different? They have a different shape, to begin with. Toads have stubby bodies and short legs. They tend to walk rather than hop. This is probably why they were called “tadie”, meaning small. They took very small steps. They tend to bound more like an animal with four legs than hop like a frog. Frogs have much longer legs. The legs of a frog are much longer than their head and body and are roughly a quarter of the frog’s weight. They have very stretchy tendons in their legs. When they are about to jump, their leg muscles shorten, winding up the tendons, which release the energy like a spring when they jump. Toads lack these long legs and tendons, so all they can do is make small jumps or bound forward.

This lack of jumping ability gives frogs and toads a different defense mechanism as well. If frogs are in danger, they will leap as far as they can, into water if it is nearby. Toads are more likely to stay where they are and hope that their camouflage protects them. Many toads also produce a poisonous secretion that puts many animals off eating them. This doesn’t always work and they are eaten by many birds, and mammals, but it is a good general defense.

Toads have different skin as well. Toads tend to have much drier and wartier skin than frogs do. Frogs have very moist skin and they need to live close to water or they will dry out. Frogs breathe through their skin and if they dry out, they won’t be able to breathe. Toads also breathe through their skin, but they don’t need the skin to be wet to do so. This means they can live farther away from water, and they will be found in forests, fields, and drier places than frogs. However, they do need water to lay their eggs and they will pretty much always return to the same place each summer.

Another difference is the poisonous substance they secrete. All toads are poisonous, but only some frogs are poisonous. Toads secrete a milky-white fluid from glands just behind the eyes. This won’t hurt a human if we touch it, but it can be bad if ingested, which is why you should always wash your hands if you touch a toad. This substance will keep many animals away from the toad, but a lot of animals have evolved an immunity to it. The poison glands behind the eyes of the toad change the shape of the eyes somewhat. Frogs are famous for having big, bulging eyes, but toads eyes are less prominent and more hidden. This is also so that they can blend into the background more effectively.

There is also a difference in the way toads and frogs catch their prey. Frogs are famous for their long, sticky tongues that they use to catch prey. The tongue is kept curled up at the back of the throat and can be flung out at great speed. Saliva glands in the tongue produce a fluid that covers and entraps insects when it comes into contact with them. Toads don’t have this tongue. Toads find their prey on the ground, stalk up to it, and just grab it with their mouth.

A final difference is the way the eggs they lay are connected. Both frog and toad eggs hatch into tadpoles, but they are connected differently. Frogspawn is joined together in big clumps of jelly. Toadspawn has the same type of jelly, but the eggs are joined together in long lines. And this is what I learned today.

Photo by Tom Fisk: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-toad-on-big-rock-13381958/

Sources

https://www.treehugger.com/whats-the-difference-between-frogs-and-toads-4867392