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Toad vs frogs
Toads belong to the family Bufonidae. Toads tend to have skin colors from dark brown to grey or olive-brown to green. True toads are amphibians with dry skin and a warty and toothless appearance. They live worldwide except in Polynesia, Madagascar, and Polar regions. The body of these animals also contains dry, bumpy skin covering the parotid glands. A toad’s head is semi-circular with a rounded snout on the front side.
Toads live in open and moist habitats such as grasslands and fields. Toads possess much shorter legs. These species use squatty legs for crawling, walking, hopping, or leaping around the ground. They use shorter hind legs for jumping but only for short distances. Toads lay eggs in water rather than on land. Toad tadpoles are globular in shape.
In comparison, frogs are amphibians belonging to the family Ranidae. The African bullfrog is the largest of all frogs. Frogs tend to have strong hind legs and moist skin. The skin of frogs is green to dark brown. The webbed hind feet of frogs are adapted for leaning and swimming. Frogs possess much longer legs than the combined length of other body parts. As these animals have long hind legs, various other species with this feature complicate their identification. Frogs spend most of their time near water.
Tree frogs with smooth and slimy skin possess sticky pads on their feet to climb. Many frogs lay eggs on land, transporting frog tadpoles to water. These tadpoles of these species appear black in color. Frog spawn stays in clusters. The difference between a frog and a toad tadpole is between colors. Frog and toad tadpoles possess small mouths, broad tails, and no external gills. Although all toads are frogs, not all frogs are toads. Both a frog and a toad are with no tails.
“What is the main difference between a frog and a toad?” There are many key differences between frogs and toads. For example, true toads have warty, dry skin, while true frogs possess smooth, slimy skin. There is a difference between toad vs frog eggs. Toad eggs are more in the chain than frog eggs that appear in a mass. According to Wildlife Preservation Canada, frogs and toads are endangered species in Canada.
Toad | Frog |
Toads are present in all countries, including Indonesia, India, China, Malaysia, etc. but not Antarctica. Toads inhabit open and moist habitats such as grassland and fields. | They live in various environments, including tundra, deserts and tropical forests. These species are also present throughout the world except in Antarctica. |
These animal species have an average size of 4 to 7 inches or 10 to 18 centimeters, and a weight of about 0.7 to 2.8 ounces or 20 to 80 grams. In addition to this, the larger reported toad is seen with a length of about 13 centimeters. | A frog species have an average size between 6 and 12 centimeters and 10 to 75 grams; the weight and size may vary depending on the species. They can grow as big as less than 1 to 32 centimeters, weighing between 0.5 and one gram. |
Various animal species love to eat small mammals, amphibians, and reptiles. But toads love to feed on insects and many other arthropods to survive. | The adult frogs catch their prey, including worms, slugs, snails and others, using long, sticky tongues. The young ones also feed on algae then become carnivorous. |
Toads possess long tongues that are attached to the front of their mouths. They actively crawl to look for prey and use their long tongues to get closure on finding the yummy food. | These animal species do have long tongues. The tongues are smaller and are about one-third of their bodies, more than one inch. Frogs can shoot out tongues, pulling them back into the mouth. |
These animal species appear to possess excellent night vision that is considered superior to all animals. | Frogs can mostly see only at a distance but are very sensitive to movement, possessing excellent night vision. They can quickly see prey and predators due to this peripheral vision. |
They can see those dark colors that are not visible to normal humans. | Their eyes focus on back and forth action. |
The breeding of these animal species occurs on land. Toads lay fertilized eggs in water that are hatched into tadpoles and then developed into adult toads. They either retain eggs inside their bodies to birth directly or lay eggs that get hatched into miniature toads. | Frogs typically use the external fertilization process to lay eggs. The female ones release eggs from their bodies in the water, and the males then release sperms to fertilize eggs. In this condition, the fertilization of eggs takes place inside females’ bodies. |
They contain an external skin gland on their shoulders, necks, and backs called the parotoid gland. This gland secretes various milky alkaloid substances, called bufotoxins, acting as neurotoxins to detect predators. | Like toads, frogs also appear to possess a parotoid gland behind their eyes to secrete alkaloid substances depending upon the species. This gland is also present in various other animals, including salamanders. |
These animal species are nocturnal that appears to be more active at night. They used to hide under logs or rocks or dig into dead leaves and soil. In addition to this, these animals dig deeper in the winter season for hibernation purposes. | They are also considered to be nocturnal; hence are more active at night because these animal species possess senses that are well-suited to darkness. The night and evening times are the best times to blend into the environment and avoid predators. |
Like other animal species, toads live for a specific period. For instance, they live an average life of between 10 and 15 years. | Researchers have shown that frogs live between 10 and 20 years in captivity and almost 3 and 18 years in the wild. |
FAQ’s
Although many facts and differences are described between frogs and toads, people still get confused and raise questions. Therefore, the answers to some of those questions are as given below;
Why is a frog not a toad?
It is so because frogs possess longer legs adapted for swimming and jumping. But, instead of all this, they also have smooth, moist skins that prevent them from drying out.
Is a toad bigger than a frog?
It is not so obvious. However, toads can be of the same size, smaller or larger as frogs, depending on the species.
Conclusion
There are a variety of species present throughout the world, all varying in identification features. Similarly, frogs and toads possess some unique features making it difficult to identify them. This blog post has provided many exciting facts and information that are enough to make your minds clear. However, it would help greatly if you read this article with great care.
