29 Types of Frogs in Mississippi: A Species-by-Species ID Guide
October 22, 2026
Mississippi’s wetlands, pine flatwoods, and backyard ponds erupt into chorus every spring, and the sound is more complicated than it seems. Within a single evening, a careful listener standing at the edge of a Delta slough might pick out the trill of a toad, the banjo-twang of a bullfrog, and the high peep of a tiny treefrog, all answering each other in the dark. Identifying the types of frogs in Mississippi starts with learning to separate those voices, because many of the state’s nearly thirty native species look remarkably similar at a glance.
This guide walks through every frog and toad native to Mississippi, organized roughly by family, with the physical markings, calls, and habitats that set each one apart. Some belong to frog families with thousands of relatives spread across rainforest habitats like the Amazon; others, like the dusky gopher frog, survive in a single patch of forest and nowhere else on Earth. Whether it’s the first spring peeper of the season or a mystery toad hopping across the porch, the profiles below cover what to look for and where to find frogs in Mississippi.
Pro Tip: Toads have dry, warty skin and short back legs built for hopping, while true frogs have smooth, moist skin and long legs built for leaping. Treefrogs split the difference, with smooth skin and sticky toe pads for climbing.
1. American Toad
The American toad (Anaxyrus americanus) is the species most Mississippians picture when they think of a toad: stout, brown or olive, and covered in warty bumps. It belongs to the true toad family, and as the Mississippi Herp Atlas notes, the True Toads are rough-skinned amphibians found throughout the state. Unlike many of the state’s other toads, the American toad typically has one or two warts inside each large dark spot on its back.
Look for this species in gardens, woodland edges, and under porch lights where it hunts insects at night. Its call is a long, musical trill that can last up to 30 seconds, often heard from shallow breeding pools in early spring. It overlaps broadly with the related broader frog and toad family found across the eastern United States, though in Mississippi it tends to favor the hillier northern counties.
2. Fowler’s Toad
Fowler’s toad (Anaxyrus fowleri) looks so similar to the American toad that the easiest way to tell them apart is by counting warts: Fowler’s toad usually has three or more warts packed into each dark dorsal blotch. It also tends to have a plain, unspotted belly, while the American toad often shows a dark chest spot.
This species prefers sandy soils near rivers and floodplains, where it burrows during the day and emerges to feed at dusk. Its call is a short, nasal “waaah,” sometimes compared to the bleat of a distressed sheep, and it breeds in temporary pools and shallow pond margins across much of the state.
3. Oak Toad
The oak toad (Anaxyrus quercicus) holds the title of the smallest toad in North America, rarely growing past an inch and a quarter. A pale stripe runs down the center of its back, making it easy to separate from Mississippi’s larger toad species even at a glance.
Oak toads live in sandy pine flatwoods and longleaf pine savannas, the same fire-maintained habitat type found in parts of South Carolina’s coastal plain. Rather than a trill, its call is a high-pitched chirp similar to a baby chick, usually heard from shallow, grassy ditches after warm rain.
4. Southern Toad
The southern toad (Anaxyrus terrestris) is one of the most common toads in the lower half of the state. According to the Mississippi Herp Atlas, the southern toad is a medium-sized frog species found throughout the southeastern United States, including parts of southern Mississippi, and is a terrestrial species that spends most of its time on land rather than in water.
Identification comes down to the cranial crests behind its eyes. As the Atlas explains, cranial crest morphology is the most important feature for determining species, and in southern toads a prominent tear-shaped lump differentiates them from other species in their range, such as the Fowler’s toad or Gulf Coast toad. Listen for a long, musical whirring trill, often mixed in with spring peepers and chorus frogs in the same pond.
5. Gulf Coast Toad
The Gulf Coast toad (Incilius nebulifer) is a large, heavy-bodied toad with prominent parotoid glands behind the eyes and a dark stripe running along each side of its body. It’s a more recent arrival to Mississippi’s toad lineup compared to the true toads above, having expanded its range eastward along the Gulf Coast over past decades.
This species tolerates disturbed habitat better than most native frogs, turning up in suburban yards, drainage ditches, and agricultural fields in the coastal counties. Its call is a low, buzzy trill, shorter and harsher than the American toad’s extended song.
6. Eastern Narrow-Mouthed Toad
Despite the common name, the eastern narrow-mouthed toad (Gastrophryne carolinensis) isn’t a true toad at all. It’s a small, egg-shaped amphibian with smooth skin, a pointed snout, and a distinctive fold of skin running across the back of its head.
This species specializes in eating ants and termites, often living inside or beneath rotting logs close to colonies of its prey. Its call is an odd, buzzing bleat that sounds more like an insect than an amphibian, usually heard on warm, humid nights following rain.
7. Eastern Spadefoot
The eastern spadefoot (Scaphiopus holbrookii) is built for a life underground. A hardened, spade-shaped projection on each hind foot lets it dig backward into loose, sandy soil, where it can wait out dry spells for months at a time.
Vertical, cat-like pupils set this species apart from Mississippi’s other burrowing amphibians, a trait shared with desert-adapted spadefoots found in places like Arizona’s arid basins. Eastern spadefoots are explosive breeders, emerging en masse after heavy rain to spawn in temporary pools before disappearing underground again within days.
8. Northern Cricket Frog
The northern cricket frog (Acris crepitans) is a tiny, warty frog, rarely over an inch long, with a dark triangular mark between its eyes. Despite its small size, it’s one of the most frequently heard frogs around Mississippi’s ponds and slow streams, feeding on tiny insects and spiders along the water’s edge.
Its call sounds like two pebbles clicking together in a steady, accelerating rhythm, often mistaken for an actual cricket. Northern cricket frogs are strong jumpers for their size and frequently flee into open water when disturbed, unlike most other small frogs that retreat into vegetation.
9. Southern Cricket Frog
The southern cricket frog (Acris gryllus) looks nearly identical to its northern cousin but has a more pointed snout and proportionally longer hind legs. The two species’ ranges overlap across much of Mississippi, and genetic and call differences are often more reliable than appearance for a confident identification.
This species favors acidic, vegetated wetlands in the coastal plain, including cypress-lined ponds and roadside ditches. Its call is similar to the northern cricket frog’s clicking rhythm but tends to run slightly faster and higher in pitch.
10. Spring Peeper
The spring peeper (Pseudacris crucifer) is a small tan or brown frog best known for the dark, X-shaped mark across its back, which gives the species its scientific name. It’s one of the earliest callers of the year, often heard chorusing in February while frost still lingers on the ground.
Its piercing, high-pitched “peep,” repeated roughly once per second, carries remarkably far for such a small frog. Spring peepers range across an enormous swath of the eastern United States, from the Mississippi coastal plain north through Connecticut and all the way to Maine, making it one of the most widely distributed frogs on the continent.
11. Upland Chorus Frog
The upland chorus frog (Pseudacris feriarum) is a small, striped frog found mainly in the hillier northern and central parts of Mississippi. Three dark stripes run down its back, sometimes broken into rows of spots, against a tan or gray background.
Its call is the classic chorus frog sound: a rough, rising “crreek” often compared to running a thumbnail along the teeth of a plastic comb. Upland chorus frogs breed in shallow, temporary wetlands, woodland ponds, and flooded fields, typically starting their chorus in late winter.
12. Cajun Chorus Frog
The Cajun chorus frog (Pseudacris fouquettei) was only formally recognized as distinct from the upland chorus frog in the early 2000s, after researchers found consistent genetic and call differences between western and eastern populations of what was once considered a single species. In Mississippi, it occupies the western part of the state near the Louisiana border.
Visually, it’s difficult to distinguish from the upland chorus frog without range data or call analysis. Its call follows the same comb-like rasping pattern, though research into call structure helped confirm the species split in the first place.
13. Southern Chorus Frog
The southern chorus frog (Pseudacris nigrita) differs from its chorus frog relatives by sporting rows of dark spots rather than continuous stripes down its back. It favors flatwoods ponds and wet pine savannas in the southern part of the state, habitat it shares with several other coastal plain specialists.
Its call is a rapid, clicking “crick-crick-crick,” faster and more insect-like than the slower rasp of the upland chorus frog. Breeding typically peaks during cool, wet weather in late winter and early spring.
14. Ornate Chorus Frog
The ornate chorus frog (Pseudacris ornata) is the most colorful member of Mississippi’s chorus frog group, often showing shades of green, brown, or reddish-brown with a bold dark mask running through each eye. Dark spots or blotches scatter across its back and sides.
Unlike most Mississippi frogs, this species often breeds in fall and early winter rather than spring, moving to shallow, grassy wetlands after cold-season rains. Its call is a short, metallic “peep” delivered in a rapid series.
15. Collinses’ Mountain Chorus Frog
Collinses’ mountain chorus frog (Pseudacris collinsorum) is one of the most recently described frogs on this list, split from the mountain chorus frog complex after researchers identified it as a genetically distinct lineage restricted to the hill country of northeastern Mississippi and nearby states. The Reptiles and Amphibians of Mississippi field guide lists it among the state’s confirmed treefrog-family species.
Key Insight: Several of Mississippi’s chorus frogs, including the Cajun and Collinses’ mountain chorus frogs, were only recognized as separate species within the last two decades. Call recordings and genetic testing, not just appearance, often settle the identification.
This species has a rough, rising call similar to other chorus frogs, and it breeds in rocky-bottomed streams and seepage areas rather than the still ponds favored by most of its relatives, a habitat preference tied to its hillier range.
16. Cope’s Gray Tree Frog
Cope’s gray treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis) has mottled gray, green, or brown skin that mimics tree bark, letting it disappear against rough surfaces during the day. Bright yellow-orange patches hidden on the inner thighs flash into view only when the frog jumps, a useful identification trick.
This species is nearly identical in appearance to the eastern gray treefrog found farther north, but the two are distinguished by chromosome number and call speed rather than looks. Cope’s gray treefrog has a faster, more musical trill, delivered from tree holes, gutters, and vegetation near breeding ponds.
17. Green Tree Frog
The green treefrog (Hyla cinerea) is bright green with a clean white or cream-colored stripe running along each side of its body, making it one of the easiest Mississippi treefrogs to identify. Small gold flecks sometimes scatter across its back.
It’s common on vegetation surrounding ponds, lakes, and marshes across the state, often clustering in large numbers around porch lights and windows at night. Its call is a loud, repetitive “quonk-quonk-quonk,” frequently described as sounding like a cowbell or a metal gate.
18. Pine Woods Tree Frog
The pine woods treefrog (Hyla femoralis) is small and mottled brown or gray, with small orange or yellow spots hidden on the back of its thighs that only show when it jumps. It spends most of its life high in pine trees rather than near the ground.
Its call is an irregular series of clicks often compared to Morse code tapped on a telegraph key. Pine woods treefrogs breed in temporary pools within pine flatwoods and often call from considerable height in the canopy rather than from the water’s surface.
19. Barking Tree Frog
The barking treefrog (Hyla gratiosa) is the largest treefrog native to Mississippi, capable of growing past two and a half inches. Like several other treefrogs, it can shift between green, brown, and gray depending on temperature, humidity, and mood, usually with dark rounded spots scattered across its back.
Its call gives the species its name: a loud, resonant “doonk” repeated from the water’s surface, often mistaken for a dog barking in the distance. This treefrog’s range overlaps with populations found in North Carolina’s sandhills region, where similar pine habitat supports the species.
20. Squirrel Tree Frog
The squirrel treefrog (Hyla squirella) is a variable species, shifting between green, brown, and gray, sometimes within the same individual over just a few hours. It’s one of the treefrogs most likely to be found clinging to the siding of a house, climbing window screens the way some geckos in Mississippi are often seen doing after dark.
Its call is a harsh, scolding series of notes that genuinely resembles an agitated squirrel, which is where the species gets its common name. Squirrel treefrogs tolerate disturbed, urban habitat better than most native frogs, breeding readily in ditches, birdbaths, and ornamental ponds.
21. Crawfish Frog
The crawfish frog (Lithobates areolatus) spends nearly its entire life hidden inside abandoned crawfish burrows, only emerging during brief, explosive breeding events after heavy spring rain. Because of this secretive lifestyle, it’s rarely seen outside of its narrow breeding window, even in areas where it’s locally common.
This species depends on open prairie and grassland remnants, the same kind of habitat that supports crawfish frog populations in grasslands farther west and in Oklahoma’s remaining prairies. Its call is a deep, snoring growl, unlike anything else heard in a Mississippi wetland.
22. American Bullfrog
The American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) is the largest frog native to North America, capable of reaching eight inches in body length. Its deep, resonant “jug-o-rum” call is one of the most recognizable frog sounds in the country, carrying across large ponds and lakes on summer evenings.
Bullfrogs are aggressive generalist predators, eating virtually anything that fits in their mouths, including other frogs, snakes, and small birds, while native snakes in Mississippi and wading birds prey on their tadpoles in turn. Outside their native range, bullfrogs introduced to places like California have become a serious invasive problem, outcompeting native amphibians wherever they establish.
23. Green Frog
The green frog (Lithobates clamitans) is one of the most common true frogs statewide, found in nearly any permanent body of water from farm ponds to roadside ditches. A ridge of raised skin runs down each side of its back, a useful feature for separating it from the similarly colored bullfrog, which lacks these ridges.
Its call is a single, abrupt “gunk,” often compared to the pluck of a loose banjo string, and it’s sometimes repeated several times in quick succession. Green frogs breed over a long season stretching from late spring through summer.
24. Pig Frog
The pig frog (Lithobates grylio) closely resembles the American bullfrog but has a more pointed snout and fully webbed toes, including the fifth toe, an adaptation for life in dense marsh vegetation. It rarely strays far from permanent wetlands with thick aquatic plant cover.
True to its name, the pig frog’s call is a short, grunting snort that sounds remarkably like a pig. Large colonies can create an almost constant low grunting chorus in southern Mississippi’s marshes during warm months.
25. River Frog
The river frog (Lithobates heckscheri) is a large, dark true frog restricted to flowing water and swamps in the extreme southern tip of the state. Its skin can secrete a foul-smelling compound when handled, a defense that helps deter predators and makes this species unmistakable to anyone who picks one up.
Its call is a deep, rolling growl or snore, quite different from the sharper jug-o-rum of the bullfrog. River frogs are considered rare and habitat-sensitive in Mississippi, limited to the cleanest, least disturbed stream systems in the coastal counties.
26. Pickerel Frog
The pickerel frog (Lithobates palustris) is easy to identify by the two rows of squarish, chocolate-brown spots running down its back, arranged almost like a checkerboard rather than the rounder spots seen on the southern leopard frog. Bright yellow or orange coloring on the inner thighs shows when it jumps.
This species is sometimes grouped with Mississippi’s mildly toxic frog species, since its skin secretions can irritate the mouths of predators and even other frogs kept nearby in captivity. Its range extends well beyond Mississippi, reaching north into states as distant as the ones covered in guides to frogs in Pennsylvania.
27. Dusky Gopher Frog
The dusky gopher frog (Lithobates sevosus), also called the Mississippi gopher frog, is the rarest and most imperiled amphibian on this list. According to Wikipedia, it is a critically endangered species of frog in the family Ranidae, endemic to the southern United States, with natural habitats of temperate coastal forests and intermittent freshwater marshes; this secretive frog is on average three inches long, with a dark brown or black dorsal surface covered in warts.
Important Note: The dusky gopher frog is federally protected under the Endangered Species Act. Disturbing its habitat or handling wild individuals without authorization can carry legal penalties.
According to NatureServe, the species formerly occurred in the Coastal Plain from Alabama to Mississippi and Louisiana, but is now known from a very small area in Mississippi, threatened by habitat destruction and degradation from a proposed housing development, construction and expansion of two highways, and a proposed reservoir. It has since disappeared entirely from Alabama and Louisiana. A Louisiana-based herpetology resource notes that Dusky Gopher Frogs have a restricted historical range in the southeastern United States, and an extant range of only one area in southern Mississippi, with less than 250 adults in total, confined largely to the De Soto National Forest in Harrison County. Its call is a deep, snore-like growl, rarely heard given how few individuals remain.
28. Southern Leopard Frog
The southern leopard frog (Lithobates sphenocephalus) is a slender, pointed-snout frog covered in irregular, rounded dark spots over a green or brown background. A light spot on the tympanum, the round hearing structure behind the eye, helps separate it from the similarly patterned pickerel frog.
This is one of the most adaptable true frogs in Mississippi, turning up in nearly any wetland, from farm ponds to roadside ditches to swamp margins, and its range extends into states as far north as those covered in guides to frogs in Pennsylvania. Its call is a chuckling, laugh-like series of clucks, often delivered from open water rather than dense vegetation.
29. Greenhouse Frog
The greenhouse frog (Eleutherodactylus planirostris) is Mississippi’s only non-native frog species, originally from Cuba and the Bahamas before hitchhiking into the southeastern United States through the nursery plant trade. Tiny and mottled brown, it’s most often found hiding in mulch, leaf litter, and potted plants, exactly where its common name comes from.
Common Mistake: Greenhouse frogs are frequently mistaken for juvenile native treefrogs. The giveaway is their life cycle: greenhouse frogs skip the tadpole stage entirely, hatching directly from eggs laid in moist soil as fully formed tiny frogs.
Unlike nearly every other species on this list, the greenhouse frog has no aquatic larval stage at all, a trait it shares with related frogs that have invaded far beyond the mainland, including Hawaii, where similar introduced frogs on islands like Kauai have become notoriously loud nuisances. Its call is a high, insect-like chirp or cricket-like trill, often heard from gardens and greenhouses well after dark.
From the booming jug-o-rum of the American bullfrog to the single-pond survival story of the dusky gopher frog, Mississippi’s frogs and toads cover an unusually wide range of sizes, habitats, and life histories for one state. Learning a handful of calls, a few key markings, and the habitat each species prefers is usually enough to sort out who’s singing in the yard on any given night. For anyone building out a broader amphibian life list, the same identification habits apply well beyond Mississippi’s borders, whether comparing notes with frogs further west or tracking down which species turn up in neighboring states.