Difference Between Frogs and Toads

Frogs vs Toads

Frogs and toads are both amphibians in the order Anura and are alike looking creatures. Frogs and Toads are always been confusing for people to differentiate them. The animal kingdom is an interesting field for most people. It is them who make the distinction between alike looking creatures from the animal kingdom. For a layman or a passerby, things still remain blur and confused as to what to call particular specie. The problem generally arises in reptiles or amphibians, especially when it’s either a crocodile and an alligator or a frog and a toad. We know they are a shade of green and brown, but that can’t be the basis of their distinction.

Frog

Frogs are typically distinguished by their webbed feet and eyes sticking out. These are creatures that can jump a certain height as a defense mechanism and also to catch their prey. There long legs that extend to provide them a spring like or lever like form, provide them a large height.

Frogs are found in numerous quantities at swamps or near a water body since their permeable skin allows them to remain near water. Frogs are popular for making a distinguishing call, which increases against the dark of the night or during their mating season. Frogs lay their eggs in the water body, where the eggs develop according to the birth cycle to give out tadpoles that cannot live on dry land till they reach a certain maturity.

Toad

Toads and frogs have been confused for time immemorial. Toads are amphibians with a scaled texture much like a snake’s. They are generally brown in color and present in abundance in dry areas. This texture and color provides toads with a camouflage to remain safe in the dry areas. These are for protection against a predator or when the toads have to catch their prey.

Toads have, long elongated legs like its twin, which allows him to cover heights and travel distances. Toads have eyes that do not protrude out as the frog’s does. Some toads are also poisonous.

Difference between Frogs and Toads

There is no easy way to tell apart the frogs from the toads or the toads from the frogs. However, experts tell that the distinction lies in the texture of the skin. Where frogs are said to have a smooth covering, toads have leather like texture. This is one reason that when a frog is taken out of water and touched, because the water glides on the skin, the feeling is generally slimy. Though both have long legs, compared to the frogs’, the toads have shorter legs which are more muscular than being called stubby. Another important difference lies in the eye region. Where a frog has protruding eye sockets, a toad has eyes which do not protrude out as much.

Conclusion

For a layman, the distinction will still remain a problem as the two have more characteristics in common than their differences. It is important to note that if a ”frog- like” amphibian is present in a dry area, it is most likely that it is a toad. The regions that the two cover are also a difference between the two.