Frogs have long legs, longer than their head and body, which are made for hopping. Toads, on the other hand, have much shorter legs and prefer to crawl around rather than hop. Frogs have smooth, somewhat slimy skin. Toads have dry, warty skin.
Toads and frogs are both amphibians, which means they share similarities such as spending at least part of their lives in water or some moist place, and they usually lack tails, scales, and claws on their feet. Both are members of the Anura order. Anura is a Greek word that means “tailless” even though there are frogs that seem to have tails.
After that, what separates a frog from a toad is surprisingly uncertain. Indeed, to scientists, there’s no real difference. There are between 2000 and 7100 species of frogs and toads, and though all toads are frogs, all frogs aren’t toads, usually. The differences are decided in what is called folk taxonomy.
According to folk taxonomy, frogs stay close to bodies of water or wet places, while toads can be found even in deserts. Toads tend to have skin that is famously warty or rough, while the skin of frogs is smooth and often slimy.
Toads tend to be squatter and can’t jump as well as frogs, who often have long hind legs made for leaping. The eyes of toads are larger as well. In general, frogs are longer than toads, and the biggest frog in the world is the Goliath frog, which can grow to over a foot in length. In contrast, the biggest toad in the world is the cane toad, which can grow to 9.4 inches.
What are Frogs?
We can distinguish frogs by their webbed feet and eyes sticking out. These are creatures that can jump a certain height as a defence mechanism and also catch their prey. There long legs that extend to provide them with a spring-like or lever like form, provide them with a large height.
Frogs can be seen in numerous quantities at swamps or near a water body since their permeable skin allows them to remain near water. They are popular for making a distinguishing call, which increases against the dark of the night or during their mating season.
Further, looking at their reproduction, they lay eggs in the water body, where the eggs develop into tadpoles. The tadpoles live in the waterbody until maturation as they cannot live on dry land until they reach a certain maturity.
What are Toads?
Toads are amphibians with a scaled texture much like a snake’s. They are generally brown in colour and present in abundance in dry areas. Thus, this texture and colour provide toads the camouflage to remain safe in the dry areas. These are for protection against a predator or when the toads have to catch their prey.
Moreover, toads have elongated legs that provide the ability for them to cover heights and travel distances. Furthermore, the toads have eyes that do not protrude out as the frogs do. Also, some toads are poisonous.
Main difference between Frog and toad
Main diffrences | Toad | Frog |
| Skin | rough, warty | smooth, slimy |
| Body | broad, squat | longer and slimmer |
| Habitat | Dry land | Aquatic, mostly |
| Eggs | Ribbons | Clumps |
| Nose | Broad | Pointed |
| tadpoles | Squat, short | Long, slender |
| Legs | Shorter | Longer than head and body |
| Teeth | None | Teeth in upper jaw, usually |
what are the Six Key Differences Between Toads and Frogs?
1. Toad vs Frog: Skin
First is the creature’s skin. If the skin is smooth and moist, you’re likely looking at a frog. If it’s dry, rough, and bumpy, you’re likely looking at a toad. Though the idea of contracting warts from touching a toad is entirely untrue, remembering it may prove helpful. The bumps on a toad’s back won’t give you a skin condition, but they do look warty, which provides a clue that what you’re looking at is probably a toad rather than a frog.
2. Toad vs Frog: Legs
Frogs have long legs, longer than their head and body, which are made for hopping. Toads, on the other hand, have much shorter legs and prefer to crawl around rather than hop.
The hind legs of many kinds of frogs show that the animals live mostly in the water. They’re longer than the head and body, giving frogs the ability to leap far over ground and swim fast through water. In contrast, the hind legs of many kinds of toads are shorter than the head and body, and the animals look squat and rotund.
Transporting themselves with small hops, toads may even look at times as if they’re crawling. (A few kinds of frogs and toads actually do transport themselves by walking rather than hopping or leaping.)
3. Toad vs Frog: Eggs
That frogs and toads need a body of water or a wet place to mate and lay their eggs is one of their similarities. Yet, a person can tell the difference between frog and toad eggs because frog eggs are laid in clumps in the water, and toad eggs are laid in long ribbons that can sometimes get tangled up in aquatic plants. Frog eggs are called frog spawn while toad eggs are called toad spawn.
4. Toad vs Frog: Color
Frogs tend to come in many more colors than toads. The most brilliantly colored frogs include the poison dart frogs of South America. The bad news is that their amazing colors let would-be predators know that they are extremely toxic.
The beautiful golden poison frog has enough poison in its skin to kill between 10 and 20 grown men. But the poisonous skin of the rather drab-looking common toad can also be deadly if the toad is eaten or even handled without precautions. Poison skin is another one of the similarities shared by toads and frogs.
5. Toad vs Frog: Habitat
Since frogs need to keep their skin moist, they’re often found near water. Their breeding usually takes place in fresh water, too, and a cluster of eggs floating on the surface of a pond or attached to a water plant may be a sign that a frog is nearby.
Many kinds of toads, on the other hand, don’t need the security a nearby body of water provides, as their skin tends to be better at retaining the moisture it needs than frogs’ skin. If there’s no pond, lake, or stream nearby, you’re likely looking at a toad.
6. Toad vs Frog: Tadpoles
Like their adult counterparts, frog tadpoles are slimmer whereas toad tadpoles are chunky. Frog tadpoles are also covered in gold flecks, while toad tadpoles are plain black in colour.
