The “froads and togs” mix-up

Do you know the difference between a toad and a frog? If you don’t know, don’t worry; many people get them confused. They’re similar, yet different. Toads and frogs are both amphibians — a class of cold-blooded vertebrate animals that also include newts, salamanders and worm-like creatures called caecilians (say-sil-yuns). Frogs are smooth or slimy and toads are warty and dry. (And no, you can’t get warts from toads . . .)

A frog is a small, tail-less amphibian (am-fib-ee-uhn) with smooth, moist skin, long hind legs, webbed feet and bulging eyes. As an amphibian, they live in water the first part of their lives and then live in or around water as adults. They’re good swimmers and can make long jumps. They spend more of their time in the water than their close relative, the toad.

Toads generally have a broader, flatter body and darker, warty, bumpier skin than frogs. They also have shorter, less powerful back legs. They have a pair of glands called “paratoids,” which are located on the top of their heads. These glands produce a poison that can make people ill or cause eye irritation. Some frogs have poison glands that ooze onto their skin. If a predator grabs the frog, the poison repels the enemy.

Missouri has 26 species and subspecies of toads and frogs. Of the 6,145 species of amphibians currently recognized in the world, there are 4,145 species of toads and frogs. The largest species is the Goliath frog which is found on the west coast of Africa. Its head and body length can reach nearly 14 inches and weigh up to 7 pounds! One of the world’s smallest frogs is Eleutherodactylus iberia, which has no commonname and lives in tropical forests of Cuba. It’s less than a half-inch long as an adult. It is so tiny the females of the species are able to produce only one egg during breeding season.

To see images and learn more about Missouri’s toads and frogs, log onto the Missouri Department of Conservation’s Web site at
www.mdc.mo.gov/nathis/herpetol/frog/id.htm.

Would you like to make a little house for your toad friends? It’s easy. Find a good, shady hiding place outside (under a bush, hidden from direct sun is a good spot.) Take a medium-sized clay flowerpot. Bury the pot on its side halfway in the dirt.

Make sure the dirt inside the pot is a little wet and crumbly. Add a few dead leaves and twigs inside, too. You’ll know when the toad moves in by the way the dirt at the front of the house gets worn down — that’s where Mr. Toad sits and waits for his dinner to pass by. If he’s lucky, with the help of his long, sticky, quick tongue, he’ll eat about 10,000 insects in one summer.

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