Toad is a common name for a number of different species of frogs, particularly those belonging to the family Bufonidae.
These different types of toads have dry, leathery skin, short legs, and big bumps that cover their parotoid glands.
Toads have drier, rougher skin and inhabit more terrestrial surroundings, although a distinction between frogs and toads is not specific in scientific taxonomy.
However, this distinction is ubiquitous in popular culture.
Toads are a specific species of frog characterized by their leathery skin and the presence of huge bumps in the region of their parotoid glands.
Frogs have long legs and smooth skin covered in mucus. Frogs also have mucus on their skin. Toads have skin that is more resilient and thicker than frogs, and their legs are often much shorter.
Toads lay their eggs in long strands, but frogs lay their eggs in clusters that are very similar to bunches of grapes.
As a result of the fact that many frogs have warts while some toads have smooth, slimy skin, the correct definition of the difference between frogs and different types of toads continues to be an unclear debate for specialists all over the world.
Different Types of Toads
1. Asian Common Toad
First on our list of different types of toads is the Duttaphrynus melanostictus, also known as the Asian Common Toad, the Asian black-spined toad, the common Sunda toad, the black-spectacled toad, and the Javanese toad.
You can find it in various parts of South and Southeast Asia, such as Pakistan, India, Thailand, Hong Kong, and many other places in the region.
You can find them at elevations ranging from the ocean floor to an altitude of 5,900 feet. Lowland regions, higher beaches, riverbanks, agricultural spaces, and urban areas are among their most common habitats. You can also find these toads in metropolitan settings.
The length of the Asian common toad can reach up to 20 centimeters (eight inches). The toad breeds during the monsoon seasons and the tadpoles of this species are black in appearance.
The breeding season for the toad occurs throughout the monsoon seasons.
The tadpoles are very intelligent; they can identify members of their own family. Their snouts are small, and they have several bony ridges on the top of their heads.
They consume invertebrates, such as scorpions, as the primary component of their diet.
2. Colorado River Toad
Incilius alvarius is another name for the toad that lives in the Colorado River Incilius alvarius. Most of its occurrences are in northern Mexico and the southern United States of America.
The toad is endemic to the lower Colorado River basin, and you can find them in environments ranging from semi-arid to desert.
It is a species of animal that lives in a transitional state between land and water and can thrive in areas with springs, ditches, streams, and canals.
It has a texture similar to leather and a mottled brown or olive-green coloration all over its body.
Because the Colorado River toad can reproduce in natural and man-made bodies of water, its reproductive patterns and geographic range have adapted to changing conditions over time.
The rainy season in May marks the beginning of the toad’s breeding season.
The toads wait anywhere from one to three days after a rainstorm to lay their eggs in breeding areas such as ponds, slow-moving streams, man-made structures, and temporary pools. Up to 8,000 eggs can be laid by a single female toad.
It makes a sound similar to a toot and has a low-pitched, feeble call that lasts for less than a second. It is the second largest toad species in the United States and can become as long as 190 millimeters in length (after Cane Toad).
3. Golden Toad
The Golden toad is a notable mention on our list of different types of toads Because of its striking yellowish-orange coloration.
The Incilius periglenes are commonly referred to as the Golden Toad. Despite their diminutive size, these toads are capable of producing highly distinctive calls.
They formerly inhabited high-altitude highlands of approximately 4 square kilometers (1.5 square miles) in the city of Monteverde in Costa Rica. They formerly inhabited the elfin cloud forests in a prevalent manner.
Despite this, it didn’t take long for it to become a “poster child” for the plight of amphibians everywhere, as their numbers continue to plummet due to the destruction of their natural habitats and other factors.
Herpetologist Jay Savage discovered the golden toad for the first time in 1966. Scientists last spotted it in 1989 in the wild.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has determined that the species no longer exists (IUCN).
4. Common Midwife Toad
The Alytes obstetrician is also known as the Common Midwife Toad. It is a member of the family Alytidae. Because the male toad carries the eggs entangled around his thighs and back until they are ready to hatch, the practice gave rise to the name “entwined egg carrier.”
Countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Portugal, Belgium, Switzerland, and Spain are all home to this animal species.
The Common Midwife toad calls its native habitat a variety of environments, including shrubland, rivers, temperate forests, freshwater marshes, and many more.
Although it can survive in such a wide variety of habitats, it is nevertheless in danger of having its natural home destroyed due to the growth of human activity in recent years.
5. Asiatic Toad
The fifth mention on the list of different types of toads is The Asiatic toad, often known as the Chusan Island toad, and scientifically known as Bufo gargarizans.
The East Asian regions are home to several populations of this particular toad species. China, the far east of Russia, the Miyako islands of Japan, and very infrequently, the Korean Peninsula are the locations where you can find them.
The Asiatic Toad can be found in almost any environment except for thick woods. It is possible to come across them in open woodlands, meadows, grasslands, and other agricultural regions.
They are most successful in moist environments and cannot tolerate altitudes greater than 800 meters.
Within the context of traditional Oriental medicine, this toad plays a significant function. Chan-Su, also known as toad venom, is the process of extracting the toxins that toads secrete.
The therapeutic qualities of this extract have garnered a lot of attention.
There are many conditions, including dropsy, for which the dried skin of the toad is recommended as a treatment option.
In 1998, Western medical research used an antibacterial peptide isolated from this particular toad.
6. Western Toad
Anaxyrus boreas is a species of giant toad that can also be referred to by the name Western Toad. The Rocky Mountains, Colorado, the Pacific Northwest, the Sierra Nevada, and California are all home to populations of these animals.
They make their homes in places such as ponds, grasslands, willow woods, and aspen groves.
They can reach a length of 5.6 to 13 centimeters (2.2 to 5.1 inches). The adults are prone to making noise and have the sound of peeping chicks when they do so.
They consume any kind of bug that they can catch and have the ability to leap a significant distance.
In higher elevations, their breeding season lasts from March to July, but in lower elevations, it lasts from January to July.
The mother toad can lay as many as 17,000 eggs within a single spawn. They are strung up in strings attached to items like vegetation found along the lake’s edges.
7. Japanese Common Toad
The name “Japanese toad” refers to the species Bufo japonica, also known as the Japanese Common Toad. It belongs to the family known as Bufonidae.
The Japanese Common toad is endemic to Japan and can be found on a number of the country’s islands, including Shikoku, Kyushu, Hokkaido, and Honshu.
Additionally, it has been brought to the islands of Hokkaido and Izu-shima. These different types of toads call temperate woods, shrublands, springs, arable land, urban areas, irrigated lands, ponds, and arable land their natural home. Urban areas, irrigated lands, and ponds are also part of their natural habitat.
The length of the Japanese Common toad is approximately 17 centimeters (7 inches), and female toads are often greater in size than their male counterparts.
The toads that inhabit warmer environments are typically much greater in size than their counterparts that inhabit colder climates. A sharp tip protrudes from the front of the toad’s head.
You can find a modest number of wart-like outgrowths on the epidermis of the Japanese Common toad. They can have a color between greenish-brown, yellowish-brown, and dark brown.
During breeding seasons, the skin lightens in tone and becomes more supple.
8. Cane Toad
The cane toad, marine toad, and neo-tropical toad are all names used to refer to Rhinella marina. They are land-dwelling toads indigenous to the continents of Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.
They have also been brought into several ecosystems in Oceania, the Caribbean, and Northern Australia.
The Cane Toad is the largest toad in the world and has an extremely high reproductive rate. Cane toad females can produce thousands of eggs within a single clump of spawn.
They are opportunist feeders, meaning they can thrive on both dead and living stuff, which contributes to their rapid rate of reproduction. Additionally, this allows them to survive longer.
Because of its diet, people have been bringing them to many different places since it is an effective means of preventing the spread of pests.
However, because of the tremendous pace at which it reproduces, it has the potential to become an invasive species rapidly and is seen as a nuisance in many areas.
The adults of this species can grow to be as long as 10–15 centimeters (3.9–5.9 inches) in length, while the length of the Cane Toad ever recorded was 24 centimeters (9.4 in).
They are notorious for the toxic glands covering their bodies, and their tadpoles are extremely hazardous when consumed.
The toxic skin has the potential to kill a great number of animals, particularly dogs. These toads belong to one of the animal species that has been around the longest globally.
9. Common Toad
Toads belonging to the family Bufonidae are also referred to as the common or European toad. Just like their name implies, these toads are the most frequently seen on our list of different types of toads.
They have been mentioned in folklore for a very long time and are frequently connected with the practice of witchcraft.
This amphibian species can be found in nearly all of Europe except for certain locations, such as the Mediterranean, Ireland, and Iceland islands.
In addition, you can find it in certain western regions of Asia and the northwest of Africa. It is made up of creatures that are quite similar to one another and that share a common ancestor in the form of toads.
The common toad is an animal that is difficult to spot because it typically conceals itself during the day. It is nocturnal and spends the night searching for various invertebrates to consume, becoming active just before nightfall.
These toads are typically solitary animals, but during the breeding season, they congregate in great numbers with other individuals of their species.
In specific ponds used for breeding, the males compete with one another to mate with the females. The gelatinous strings that the eggs of the common toad are deposited in become the tadpoles once the eggs hatch.
After several months of development and growth, the tadpoles eventually transform into little toads with limb buds sprouting from their bodies.
These terrestrial juveniles will be able to emerge from the water once they have completed the metamorphosis process.
Due to the destruction of their natural habitat and the draining of their breeding grounds, the common toad population has steadily decreased over time.
When toads migrate, they sometimes become road kill for motorists and others.
10. Natterjack Toad
The Epidalea calamita is also called the Natterjack Toad in common parlance. This toad species was first discovered in Europe’s heathlands and sandy areas.
The length of an adult Natterjack toad can range anywhere between 60 and 70 millimeters.
They have yellow stripes that run down the middle of their back, parallel to their parotid glands. They walk in a manner that is distinctive due to their short legs.
This distinguishes their movement from the hopping action exhibited by the vast majority of other species of toads.
The mating call of natterjack toads is well-known for being particularly loud and unusual. The single vocal sac under the chin of male Natterjacks serves to amplify the sound produced by these toads.
Because of this, the word “jack” in their name literally means a toad that chatters (natters).
11. American Toad
The Anaxyrus americanus, more often referred to as the American toad, is a species of toad that you may find in various environments across the eastern regions of the United States and Canada.
The eastern American toad, the dwarf American toad, and the uncommon Hudson Bay toad are the primary subspecies of this species.
There may be as few as one or two warts on the body of the eastern American toad. They have more significant warts on their tibia.
Unlike most other different types of toads, the toads have very few patterns, if any at all, on their bodies. The average length of the dwarf American toad is six centimeters, or two and one-quarter inches.
The hue ranges from dark to light red, and the warts themselves are typically a darker shade than the surrounding skin.
A few scattered populations of Hudson Bay toads are located in proximity to the northern parts of Ontario. They are marked with a bright red color on the sides of their bodies.
12. European Green Toad
A different name for the Bufo viridis species is the European green toad. There is a species of toad called the European mainland toad that lives there.
Theses different types of toads can survive in a wide variety of environments, including semi-arid steppes, urban areas, and mountainous regions.
Twelve primary evolutionary lineages have contributed significantly to the species’ expansion over Europe.
You can distinguish from one another across these lineages by their distinct patterns and color variations. The spots can be of different colors, ranging from green to red to dark brown.
The underside of a European green toad is either white or a light tint, depending on the species.
The toad will alter its appearance in response to changes in light and temperature. Females are larger than males and can lay between 9000 and 15000 eggs during a single spawn.
The toads have the potential to grow to a maximum size of about 10 centimeters (about 4 inches), although most of them stay much smaller than this.
They consume a wide variety of invertebrates and insects, including small butterflies, mealworms, crickets, moths, beetles, caterpillars, and earthworms.
13. Yellow-Bellied Toad
Another stunning specie of toads on this list of different types of toads is the Bombina variegate, also called the Yellow-Bellied toad; it is a member of the Anura order of amphibians and reptiles.
During the day, these different types of toads search for locations to conceal themselves, typically behind stones or decaying wood.
They inhabit parts of southern and central Europe that are hilly and mountainous in terrain.
The length of the toad can be anything from 28 to 56 millimeters, weighing anywhere from 2.3 to 12 grams. It is less in length than other members of the family Bombinatoridae, which can reach a maximum length of 7 centimeters.
The upper portion of their body is a color between gray and brown and has patches that have faded over time.
The underside of their bodies has a tint that ranges from dark blue to gray-blue and is spotted or patched with orange and yellow.
Yellow-Bellied toads get their name from the yellow patches that cover more than half of the underside of their bellies, giving them a yellowish appearance.
Their pupils are shaped like a heart, and their noses are round. The skin’s top surface features several warts and elevated swirls.
The males begin their mating sounds in the early summer and continue through the late spring, as they lack a vocal bladder. Because of this, their cries tend to be exceptionally soft and musical.
14. Helmeted Water Toad
The Calyptocephalella gayi is also known as the wide-mouth toad, the Chilean helmeted bullfrog, and the helmeted water toad.
In addition, a few extinct species are only known from fossil remains discovered in Patagonia on South America and the Antarctic Peninsula.
These fossils date back to the Late Cretaceous and Paleogene periods (at times when it was warmer and wetter).
The modern-day helmeted water toad lives in aquatic to semi-aquatic environments, such as deep ponds and reservoirs, primarily in the central region of Chile and potentially in the neighboring west-central part of Argentina.
This incredibly huge toad typically weighs between 0.5 and 1 kilogram (1.1 and 2.2 lb) but can occasionally reach significantly higher weights.
After the goliath frog, this species is the second largest frog in the world. It is in danger due to people hunting it for food, destroying its natural habitat, pollution, introducing new species, and chytridiomycosis.
People often keep them for Herpetoculture; most commonly, They cultivate them for food in the local area, but some people tend to keep them as pets in other nations.
The female will lay anywhere from 1,000 to 16,000 eggs in shallow and densely vegetated water. Studies conducted in captivity have revealed that a single spawning can result in more than a thousand tadpoles, although many eggs do not develop into tadpoles.
When they are in the tadpole stage, their diet consists of decaying vegetation and debris. Adults consume almost any other animal they can subdue and swallow whole, including fish, insects, tiny birds, small animals, and even other species of frogs.
There is also the practice of cannibalism.
Conclusion
Toads are intriguing amphibians and animals. Each variety possesses characteristics, behaviors, and colors that are all it’s own.
Unfortunately, due to our carelessness, most toad species are on the verge of becoming extinct. In fact, there are several species of toads that no longer exist.
It is time for us to take responsibility for our actions and place a greater emphasis on more restrained activities in the interest of conserving their natural habitats.
In this way, we can continue to witness toads all around the world that are colorful, dazzling, and completely distinct.
