What are the different types of toads? There are around 6000 species of frogs and toads and, while toads are considered frogs, toads generally have rough, warty skin and short legs. Frogs, on the other hand, have smooth and slimy skin with long legs. For now, we’ll focus on the varying species of toads.
Table of Contents
Types of Toads
Cane Toad
Cane toads can live for up to 10 – 15 years in the wild and are considered to be an invasive species due to their high breeding rate and long lifespan. These types of toads are also poisonous. Their skin secretes a toxin that’s capable of killing many types of animals. Cane toad tadpoles are also toxic when ingested.
The cane toad (Rhinella marina), also known as the giant neotropical toad or marine toad, is a large, land toad endemic to South and mainland Central America, but which has been introduced to various islands throughout Oceania and the Caribbean, as well as Northern Australia. It is the world’s largest toad.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cane_toad
Common European Toad
The common toad (Bufo bufo) can live up to 12 years in the wild. These toads are grayish-brown in color and usually come out at night to hunt for food. In particular, invertebrates like gnats and earthworms.
If attacked or threatened, the European toad adopts a unique position, expanding its body and standing with its hindquarters raised and its head lowered.
The common toad, European toad, or in Anglophone parts of Europe, simply the toad, is an amphibian found throughout most of Europe, in the western part of North Asia, and in a small portion of Northwest Africa.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_toad
Natterjack Toad
The natterjack toad (Epidalea calamita) may look similar to another type of the toad, the common toad, but the former has a yellow line that runs down the middle of its back.
Natterjack toads aslo have a very unique mating call that has been described as loud and its why they are named natterjack (the chattering toad). The sound they make (males) is amplified by a vocal sac tucked away under their chins.
The natterjack toad is a toad native to sandy and heathland areas of Europe. Adults are 60–70 mm in length and are distinguished from common toads by a yellow line down the middle of the back, and parallel paratoid glands.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natterjack_toad
European Green Toad
The European green toad (Bufo viridis) is known to inhabit a variety of terrain types. And, despite the name, they can be of several different colors like green to red and dark brown. Part of the reason for the color variations is that the toad changes its color in response to heat and light.
The females of the species are larger than the males. They can grow up to 4 inches but many of them are smaller than this. They generally feed on invertebrates and insects like small butterflies, mealworms, crickets, moths, beetles, caterpillars, and different types of earthworms.
The European green toad is a species of toad found in mainland Europe. It lives in many habitats, including steppes, mountainous areas, semi-deserts, and urban areas.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_green_toad
American Toad
The American toad (Anaxyrus americanus) is one of few toad species that use body postures, touch, and chemical scents to communicate with one another. There are three different toads (subspecies) that are considered as ‘American toads’:
- The eastern American toad
- The dwarf American toad
- The Hudson Bay toad
The coloring of American toads is frequently a dull brown but can range from yellowish to olive brown to dark gray with patches of lighter colors. These types of toads can grow between 2 – 3.5 inches in length.
The American toad is a common species of toad found throughout the eastern United States and Canada. It is divided into three subspecies—the eastern American toad, the dwarf American toad, and the rare Hudson Bay toad. Recent taxonomic treatments place this species in the genus Anaxyrus instead of Bufo.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_toad
Yellow-Bellied Toad
The Yellow-Bellied Toad (Bombina variegata) have a bumpy texture along their backs and a grey-brown color. Their underbelly is typically more than 50% bright yellow with grey-brown mottling.
Asian Common Toad
The Asian common toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus) is a poisonous toad. It has glands on its back that secretes toxins which help deter predators. These toads can grow up to 8 inches long and inhabit areas near streams, rivers, and agricultural spaces.
Duttaphrynus melanostictus is commonly called Asian common toad, Asian black-spined toad, Asian toad, black-spectacled toad, common Sunda toad, and Javanese toad.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duttaphrynus_melanostictus
Colorado River Toad
The Colorado River toad (Incilius alvarius) is a semi-aquatic toad that lives near streams, rivers, springs, and ditches. It has smooth, leathery skin which is mottled brown or olive green in color. These types of toads are also poisonous.
The Colorado River toad, also known as the Sonoran Desert toad, is found in northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. Its toxin, as an exudate of glands within the skin, contains 5-MeO-DMT and bufotenin.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_River_toad
Common Midwife Toad
The common midwife toad (Alytes obstetricans) gets its name because the males of the species carry the eggs on their backs and hind-legs until they are ready to hatch.
The common midwife toad is a species of midwife frog in the family Alytidae. It is found in Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_midwife_toad
Asiatic toad
The Asiatic toad (Bufo gargarizans) is famous for its role in medicine. From the use of its toxins to its skin, it has been used to help with various ailments such as dropsy.
The Asiatic toad or Chusan Island toad is a species of toad endemic to East Asia. It is common in China and portions of the Russian Far East, but relatively rare on the Korean Peninsula.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asiatic_toad
Japanese Common Toad
The Japanese common toad (Bufo japonicus) grows up to 7 inches in length and are usually greenish-brown, yellowish-brown or dark brown in color. As per normal, the females are larger than the males and these types of toads vary in size based on the temperature of their habitat.
The Japanese common toad or Japanese toad (Bufo japonicus) is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is endemic to Japan. Its natural habitats are subarctic forests, temperate forests, temperate shrubland, swamps, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, freshwater springs, arable land, rural gardens, urban areas, ponds, and irrigated land.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_common_toad
