Is this a frog or a toad?

[poconojoe]

Frog or toad, how to tell the difference?
This guy has a green underbelly.
I'm guessing frog. Are toads more of a light brown?

 

[Corgi Mom]

Frog. Green underbelly gives it away. toads are smaller except some females are pretty big. They are darker brown around here and warty looking.

 

[poconojoe]

Thanks!
I think I might have both around my pond, is that possible? Do they co-exist?
Do toads hang out by water and jump in when you get close to them, just like frogs?
I've seen some that are all brown and seem a little fatter and maybe a little wider. Maybe those are toads?

 

[addy1]

They co-exist, but usually the toads are out in the yard. They only are in the pond during mating, at least mine. That frog almost looks like a bull frog. The green frogs here let you walk right up to them. The bull frogs jump in the moment you get close.

 

[Corgi Mom]

Thanks!
I think I might have both around my pond, is that possible? Do they co-exist?
Do toads hang out by water and jump in when you get close to them, just like frogs?
I've seen some that are all brown and seem a little fatter and maybe a little wider. Maybe those are toads?

Yes, they co-exist. As mentioned the toads only breed in the water. I hear the “screaming” toad sounds in spring when the males are calling the females. The females are much larger than the males. You’ll see many males attached to a female to mate. My frogs venture out at night to find insects. If it’s hot out they are near the pond. And those are the ones jumping into the pond if you startle them. Toads live on land and in your. garden. You have a good pond!

 

[poconojoe]

Yes, they co-exist. As mentioned the toads only breed in the water. I hear the “screaming” toad sounds in spring when the males are calling the females. The females are much larger than the males. You’ll see many males attached to a female to mate. My frogs venture out at night to find insects. If it’s hot out they are near the pond. And those are the ones jumping into the pond if you startle them. Toads live on land and in your. garden. You have a good pond!

Ok, so, the toads are the ones that whistle in the early Spring. Then after mating and laying eggs they leave the water. Got it!

In the past, we've had toads living in a garden up against the house. They were brown, fat and plump. More round or wider shape than the frog in the picture. More like Jabba The Hut! Definitely like Jabba The Hut! I knew they looked familiar!

 

[Corgi Mom]

You’re being kind. I call them alien screams! You got it. My toads can be found in my basement window wells alot of the time. They go where the bugs are. My neighbor is terrified of toads. I am trying to educate her. Toads are good! A pic of my frog buddy is attached.

 

[cas]

I call them alien screams!

 

[BKHpondcritters]

Yes, the toads are the ones who make the long, loud whistling call in early spring (then they depart the pond & live in & around the garden) Their skin is more 'bumpy' than a frog, females are definitely larger than the males, and they come in a variety of colors/shades.
These are all toads (and two large frog tadpoles):

Bullfrogs & green frogs also come in a variety of colors ranging from really green to more brownish. Their skin is smoother & less bumpy than the toads. Bullfrogs (at least in my pond) tend to get darker as they get bigger & mature out WAY larger than the green frogs, but the two are remarkably similar when they are not full grown. The one definitive way to tell them apart is to look for the two 'ridges' running down either side of their back (dorsolateral folds, to get technical) Green frogs have them. Bullfrogs do not.
Young bullfrogs (ridge around the tympanum - eardrum - but not down the back):

Adult bullfrog:

Green frogs (note the very obvious ridges on the back):

Those ridges are obvious from the very beginning, as shown by this little green frog still sporting a 'tadpole butt'!

 

[addy1]

Great explanation @BKHpondcritters

 

[BKHpondcritters]

Thanks. I admit I tend to get a bit OCD about proper critter identification.

 

[addy1]

Thanks. I admit I tend to get a bit OCD about proper critter identification.

We need that for a explanation like you posted! I am so not OCD about anything. Except parking my car for anti door dings.

 

[poconojoe]

Thanks for all the very helpful explanations!

Sadly, twice this year I had to net out a dead toad from the pond. I've never seen that before. Did their lives just end coincidentally or does that sometimes happen after they lay eggs?
Or, we have some feral cats in the neighborhood. Maybe they were able to injure or kill them? They unfortunately grab any small animal you can think of. We rarely see any chipmunks anymore because of them. My wife saw a cat with a chipmunk in its mouth, but he/she ran and wouldn't give it up. They'll even grab a baby bunny once in a while. It's kind of sad, but that's nature.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

We need that for a explanation like you posted! I am so not OCD about anything. Except parking my car for anti door dings.

You should see me with my butterfly book in hand, frantically paging back & forth, when I seen one that I've never seen before! LOL! I simply *must* know what I have wandering (swimming, hopping, flying, scampering, etc...) around my yard.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

Thanks for all the very helpful explanations!

Sadly, twice this year I had to net out a dead toad from the pond. I've never seen that before. Did their lives just end coincidentally or does that sometimes happen after they lay eggs?
Or, we have some feral cats in the neighborhood. Maybe they were able to injure or kill them? They unfortunately grab any small animal you can think of. We rarely see any chipmunks anymore because of them. My wife saw a cat with a chipmunk in its mouth, but he/she ran and wouldn't give it up. They'll even grab a baby bunny once in a while. It's kind of sad, but that's nature.

On occasion the males will get a bit too enthusiastic in their amorous pursuits & end up drowning the female. The males do also spend a considerable bit of time beating the crap out of each other, so injuries are not uncommon during mass toad spawning. I suppose a cat might take a swipe at a toad, but they taste terrible (or so I've been told, never personally taken a taste of one) so I wouldn't think it would happen more than once. (Don't get me started on my thoughts about free-roaming cats hunting wildlife. I have very strong opinions on that matter )