What is the difference between a toad and a frog? The similarity of frogs and toads

Many people do not even suspect that the words "toad"and “frog” are not synonymous, but refer to two different animals. Although the similarities between them also exist, and not a small one. After all, these are still relatives - amphibians, that is, amphibians. They originated in one era, in Devon, about 385 million years ago. Then the conditions appeared on our planet for living beings to come out of the water onto land and begin to master it. And so amphibians appeared, the Anura detachment. Infancy and childhood they spend in the water, and then live on land. After all, the gills of a tadpole are eventually replaced by the lungs of an adult animal. But how does a toad differ from a frog? Let's explore this question.

The difference in appearance

Both toads and frogs belong to cold-bloodedvertebrate animals. Anura, the name of the squad, is translated from Greek as "tailless." Thus, it is indicated that in adult individuals that part of the body that is present in tadpoles falls away. In general, this detachment includes more than 5,250 species of toads and frogs. Some of them connect the features of two animals. But scientists classify such species, which are called “true toads” and “true frogs”. This is a kind of benchmark for distinguishing between two animals. The first thing that distinguishes a toad from a frog is a squat body and a short head. She does not jump, but clumsily moves with all four paws, while the frog pushes off with its hind legs. The toad has a dry, bumpy skin. The frog is always wet to the touch. This results from the fact that, along with a nasal opening, she can breathe also a skin. In general, frogs in appearance are more graceful, agile, with an elongated silhouette. Some people scorch the toads: they are too warty.

Habitat difference

Let's see where they live. In this sense, it is easy to determine the difference between a toad and a frog. The latter always needs a pond. Despite the fact that frogs crawl to the ground, they do not go far from a pond or a quiet backwater of the river. Toads are found in forests, fields, meadows, steppes and even deserts. During the breeding season, they make a long journey - sometimes several kilometers to get to the reservoir and lay eggs there. But in ordinary life, toads live in burrows that dig in the ground. They spend the winter there. And even in reservoirs, frogs and toads behave differently. The first, sprawled on the belly, lie in the water or at its very edge. And the toads are sitting, lying low, on the shore. However, there are also tree frogs. Thanks to the suction cups on the fingers, they can skillfully crawl through the trees.

The difference in the way of nutrition

Another difference between a toad and a frog isway of life. Green inhabitants of ponds and lakes are the most active during the day. In the evening, they arrange a loud "roll call", after which they fall asleep. Toads go hunting in the evening. Groping in the grass, they look for insects, slugs, butterflies there. People should be grateful to the toads at least for the fact that they absorb mosquitoes in large quantities. Both toads and frogs hunt in the same way - with the help of a long tongue that is sticky at the tip. The capture movement of prey occurs so lightning-fast that the human eye is not able to catch it. A moment — and the toad is sitting still again. By the way, these amphibians eat even those caterpillars and bugs that birds abhor. Therefore, they can be called real assistants gardener gardener. But the toad, unlike the frog, has no teeth at all. Yes, and the latter are useless - they are located only on the upper jaw.

The difference between a toad and a frog is in the mode of reproduction

Of course, the vast majority of amphibiansbreeds by laying eggs. For this they need water. But egg-laying in frogs and frogs are different in appearance. If you see on the surface of the pond bubble mass, similar to jelly, you can be sure that this spawn was laid off by frogs. Toads lay eggs like a string. Its end they reel on the alga. Sometimes it seems that this twig of an underwater plant is swaying with the flow. So toads save their future offspring from fish. And some species even do this: the female lays the eggs with a cord that reels on the leg of her spouse. He sits in an earthen pit and waits for an hour when tadpoles should hatch. Only then he moves to the pond. A species of toads living in Latin America carries clutch in special cavities filled with liquid on its back. And one more difference between a frog and a frog: the former has special parotid glands in the back of the skull - parotids. There, the animal accumulates poison, making it tasteless for predators.

Similarity of frogs and toads

There are a lot of these features related to two animals. They belong to the category of cold-blooded animals, amphibians. They live both on land and in water. They have membranes on their paws. Both those and others lay their eggs, from which tadpoles are born. Young animals are almost indistinguishable from each other. Only when tadpoles have their tails falling off and their paws grow, young frogs leave the reservoir and rush deep into the forest, while frogs remain near the lake. The period of development of eggs and the duration of childhood also coincides. But the statement that the earthy coloring is the main difference between a toad and a frog is not true. The suits of these animals can be completely different. In the tropics there are toads of very bright color, although in our latitudes they are, indeed, brownish gray or olive in color.

Myths about toads and frogs

There are a lot of wrong signs talking aboutwhat the toad is different from the frog. For example, that the first is much larger than the second. It is not true. There are very big frogs. For example, Goliath, found in West Africa, weighs about three kilograms, and in length reaches 90 centimeters.

It is also not true to say that toadspoisonous, whereas frogs are completely harmless. It depends on the species. For example, the toad aha and the frog Koki are able to kill a person with one touch. But our toads in their glands produce the secret bufotein, which causes abundant salivation in animals that have tried to figure out an amphibian, but not harmful to human health.