Ohio's Toads and Frogs • Back to Ohio's Amphibians

In general, toads hop and have dry, warty skin. Frogs leap and tend to have moist, relatively smooth skin.

Scientifically speaking, only members of the family Ranidae are true frogs. In Ohio this includes the bullfrog, green frog, leopard frog, pickerel frog, and wood frog. The others belong to the Hylidae family, which includes the treefrog, chorus frog, and cricket frog.

Toads are often considered repulsive, and have long been associated with witchcraft and blamed for causing warts. In reality, toads are extremely beneficial to man. They are perhaps the most amiable of all amphibians.

The bumps that appear to be warts on a toad's skin are actually glands. All of them produce a liquid that can burn the sensitive mouth tissues of other animals. This is especially true of the large bump behind each eye-the parotoid gland. Most predators will quickly drop a toad because of this irritation and learn to avoid toads in the future. The same toxin is usually expelled through the cloaca when the toad is picked up. It is completely harmless to man, though it can burn the mouth and eyes.

Toads eat slugs, earthworms, sowbugs, and a wide variety of insects and larvae. One report estimated that an average toad eats almost 10,000 insects during a three-month period.

Fowler's Toad

American Toad

Spadefoot

Cricket Frog

Spring Peeper

Gray TreeFrog

Western Chorus Frog

Mountain Chorus Frog

FOWLER'S TOAD
realaudio/quicktime/windows
Bufo woodhousii fowleri
Length 2-3 in. (5-7.5 cm.)

This toad was named in honor of SR Fowler, an early naturalist from Massachusetts. It appears similar to the American toad, but there are several differences. Fowler's toads are virtually unspotted on the chest and belly, while the chest and belly of the American toad are usually dark- spotted. The greatly enlarged wart on the thighs of the American toad does not occur on the Fowler's toad. The Fowler's song is an unmusical, nasal w-a-a-a-h lasting from one to four seconds. The American toad's song is a high-pitched musical trill lasting from six to thirty seconds.

As with the American toad, Fowler's toads range throughout the state and generally prefer the same habitats. They also crossbreed with each other. American toads tend to have one, two, or three warts in each of the dark dorsal spots, as seen here. Fowler's toads generally have three or more warts in each of the larger dorsal spots.

AMERICAN TOAD
Bufo americanus
Length 2-3 1/2 in. (5-9 cm.)

American toads are common in Ohio from urban backyards to remote woodlands. In spring they congregate in large numbers in just about every available shallow breeding pond. Their courtship activities go on night and day for a week or so. Then the toads abandon the ponds abruptly, Ieaving behind long strands of eggs. One female may lay as many as 12,000 eggs. These soon hatch into tiny, jet-black tadpoles. By early June they transform into pea-sized toads that emerge from the ponds by the thousands.

This toad doesn't drink water, but rather absorbs it through the skin. There have been reports of American toads living to be 30 years of age.

EASTERN SPADEFOOT
Scaphiopus holbrookii
Length 1 3/4-2 1/4 in. (4.5-6 cm.)

Although toadlike in appearance, the spadefoot is not closely related to either the Fowler's or the American toad. The eye pupil is vertical rather than horizontal and there are no conspicuous parotoid glands behind the eyes.

The spadefoot gets its name from the sickle-shaped horny "spade" or heel on the bottom of each hind foot. The spade is used for digging--this little toad is an accomplished backwards burrower. It is seldom seen except in temporary breeding periods, or when it is accidentally dug up. It is exceptionally rare. A single specimen was collected in Athens in 1945, and a small population is known from Washington County.

BLANCHARD'S CRICKET FROG
realaudio/quicktime/windows
Acris crepitans blanchardi
Length 1/2- 1 1/2 in. (1-4 cm.)

Cricket frogs are generally restricted to the western half of Ohio, where they inhabit weed- choked permanent ponds and streams. Although similar in size to its close relative the chorus frog, the cricket frog has warty skin rather than smooth skin and a dark triangle between the eyes. There is much variation in color and pattern. Its color is influenced by its surroundings; it tends to get lighter in color in bright light, high temperature, or dry atmosphere.

Cricket frogs become active in very early spring but do not begin their courtship serenade until late spring or early summer. Their call consists of a series of sharp, clicking notes similar to the sound of someone tapping two marbles together in rapid succession.

The Blanchard's cricket frog is named for Frank Nelson Blanchard, a noted University of Michigan herpetologist.

NORTHERN SPRING PEEPER
realaudio/quicktime/windows
Hyla crucifer crucifer
Length 3/4 -1 in. (2-3 cm.)

At the first hint of spring, the northern spring peeper makes its appearance, often while traces of ice still remain on the shallow breeding ponds.

Although small enough to sit comfortably on a dime, this tiny tree frog has a shrill, birdlike peep or whistle that can he heard for a surprisingly great distance.

The peeper can easily be identified by the prominent dark 'X" on its back, as well as by its characteristically rounded treefrog toe pads.

After the breeding season, peepers move upland to moist woodlands, where they spend the summer hiding among the shrubs and feeding on insects and other small invertebrates.

GRAY TREEFROG
realaudio/quicktime/windows
Hyla versicolor
Length 11/4 - 2 in. (3-5 cm.)

The gray treefrog is the largest tree frog in the northern states. It lives in small trees and shrubs and it changes colors-from gray-green to a light pearl-gray, depending on its background. One of the best camouflaged of all frogs, this one can blend in so well with a tree that even a careful observer has trouble spotting it. A light-colored spot on each side of the head, just beneath the eyes, does not change color and there is bright yellow on the inside surface of the thighs.

These frogs are highly arboreal and seldom come down from the trees except during breeding season, when they congregate in masses at ponds. They spend the rest of their lives aloft, seeking food and calling out from trees and shrubs, especially just before or after a summer rain. Their short, loud trill sounds much like that of the red-headed woodpecker.

COPE'S GRAY TREEFROG
realaudio/quicktime/windows
Hyla chrysosce!is

Cope's gray treefrog is identical in appearance to the gray treefrog, but has a faster trill and only half as many chromosomes. Although its distribution needs to be studied, it appears to inhabit the southern third of the state, and the gray treefrog the remainder.

WESTERN CHORUS FROG
realaudio/quicktime/windows
Pseudacris triseriata triseriata
Length 3/4 - 1 1/2 in. (2-4 cm.)

The western chorus frog is often confused with the northern spring peeper because they are about the same size and live in similar habitats. The chorus frog has three distinctive dark stripes which normally run down the back, and a dark stripe on each side that extends from the nose across the eyes and on along the length of the body.

Like the peeper, the chorus frog emerges from hibernation with the thawing of the ice and congregates in small ponds by the hundreds. It is frequently found in the same breeding pools as the spring peeper. However, the chorus frog's call resembles the sound made by rubbing one's finger over the teeth of a hard plastic comb instead of the birdlike whistle of the peeper.

After the breeding season, chorus frogs are seldom seen. They probably burrow deep into mud to escape the heat of summer. Originally, these were chiefly frogs of the prairies, but they were able to extend their range as the eastern woodlands were cleared for agriculture.

MOUNTAIN CHORUS FROG
realaudio/quicktime/windows
Pseudacris brachyphona
Length 1 - 1/4 in. (2.5-3 cm.)

Although very similar in appearance to the western chorus frog, the mountain chorus frog has two dark, curved stripes on the back which look like reversed parentheses. It also usually bears a dark triangle between the eyes and a white line on the upper lip. Its call is similar to that of the western chorus frog but distinctly more nasal and higher pitched.

This is a woodland species which occurs in Ohio only in the southeastern hill country, often some distance from water. Mountain chorus frogs are usually inconspicuous, but in late spring they give themselves away as they call from their breeding pools, springs, brooks, or just about any other shallow body of water.

Bullfrog

Green Frog

Leopard Frog

Pickerel Frog

Wood Frog

The deep, resonant "jug-o'-rum" of the male bullfrog can be heard reverberating from Ohio ponds, marshes, and large slow moving streams from late April through late summer. Sometimes the call can be heard a mile away. Except during breeding season, when they go through an aggressive, loud splashing courtship, bullfrogs are rather solitary and very territorial.

The bullfrog is the largest frog in North America. Its tongue, like the toad's, is fastened in the front of the mouth, enabling it to catch a wide variety of creatures. Its diet includes crayfish, insects, mice, and other frogs. There have been reports of snakes, turtles, birds, and even bats in bullfrog stomachs.

The tadpoles are up to six inches long and they grow rapidly. They live through the winter to become frogs the following summer. Sometimes they take several years to transform into adult bullfrogs. As with their cousin the green frog, male and female bullfrogs can be told apart by the size of the eardrum. Females have eardrums about the size of their eyes; males' eardrums are much larger.

GREEN FROG
realaudio/quicktime/windows
Rana clamitans melanota
Length 2 1/4-3 1/2 in. (6-9 cm.)

This is by far the most abundant and widely distributed frog in Ohio. Although similar in appearance to the bullfrog, the green frog is smaller and has two pronounced ridges or lateral folds down the back which are absent on bullfrogs.

The green frog starts singing long after most other frogs have finished breeding. Its call sounds like the plucking of a bass string on a banjo at well spaced intervals. When disturbed, this frog utters a short, highpitched cry as it dives into the water. Even as an adult, the green frog is very aquatic and stays near water season after season.

The tadpoles closely resemble bullfrog tadpoles but are smaller. They change into adult frogs their second summer.

NORTHERN LEOPARD FROG
realaudio/quicktime/windows
Rana pipiens
Length 2-3 1/2 in. (5-9 cm.)

Leopard frogs are so named for the black "leopard spots" on their back, sides, and legs. They are fairly common throughout Ohio in a wide variety of habitats, ranging from the margins of lakes and rivers to marshes and wet meadows. During summer they are often encountered in meadows away from any permanent body of water, hence the common names "grass frog" and 'meadow frog."

From mid-March through May, ponds, streams, marshes, and even temporarily flooded fields are used for breeding grounds. The male's call is a low, guttural grunting like the sound produced by rubbing a thumb over a balloon. Leopard frogs sing even while totally submerged in water.

PICKEREL FROG
realaudio/quicktime/windows
Rana palustris
Length 1 3/4-3 in. (4.5-7.5 cm.)

Although similar in appearance to the leopard frog, the pickerel frog is slightly smaller, tends to be light brown instead of green, and has two rows of squarish rather than roundish spots running down its back. Also characteristic is the bright yellowish orange coloration on the inside of its hind legs.

Pickerel frogs favor the cool, clear waters of streams rather than the warm, sluggish waters of ponds and lakes. They occur throughout Ohio except for the northwestern Black Swamp region.

Many predators avoid pickerel frogs. Their skin secretions are reported to be somewhat toxic, a trait apparently not shared by their close look-alike, the leopard frog.

WOOD FROG
realaudio/quicktime/windows
Rana sylvatica
Length 1 1/2-2 3/4 in. (47 cm.)

This is a frog of the north country. Its range reaches all the way to the tundra of Labrador and Alaska, farther north than that of any other North American amphibian or reptile.

The wood frog is our most terrestrial frog, preferring moist woodlands to the ponds more commonly frequented by other frogs. It even hibernates on land.

During the brief breeding period in early March-often before the ice has completely melted- woodland ponds may suddenly become full of courting wood frogs. Their call is a series of five or six explosive clucking notes. A week or so after breeding, the ponds are completely abandoned by these solitary masked mavericks.