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Wednesday, May 27, 2009

American Toad

American ToadI finally found what I've been looking for! That's right, it's this little toad. It's called an American Toad because it's a very common toad in America. This is what those tadpoles I showed you a few days ago are going to turn into. I did another story about them a long time ago here.

It actually took me awhile to identify this toad because it looks different than most of the pictures of American Toads I found. I couldn't tell if it was a toad or a frog either. In the process of searching, I found out some interesting information about toads.

The first main thing I found out was that toads are actually just a type of frog. When I was a kid somebody told me that toads only looked like frogs, and that toads were actually reptiles, while frogs were amphibians. I believed that for a long time, although I always had trouble with that idea. Of course now I know that both are amphibians, and both are frogs too.

American ToadThere are some differences between toads and frogs though. Toads have rougher and thicker skin so they can survive better in dryer areas. Toads also secrete a form of poison from their skin to protect them from predators. Most are harmless but you should wash your hands if you touch a toad, to get rid of any of this poison.

Toads also don't have any teeth, while some frogs do have teeth. That's why toads have that poison. They can't really bite a predator to protect themselves, so they need something. That's why they have the poison. For these reasons toads are gentle creatures. You might be too if you were toothless.

American ToadI just happened to find this little toad when I decided to take a shortcut to the fishing platform. I'll have to show that to you again pretty soon. Now that the leaves are on the trees, that place is even more beautiful. Anyway, while I was walking down this shortcut path I saw this little toad hopping down the side of the path too.

It was obviously trying to get out of my way so I wouldn't accidentally squish it. It stopped as soon as we both reached the bottom of the hill and the end of the path. I knew I had the perfect opportunity to get some good pictures of a toad for the very first time. I did exactly that. I must have taken close to fifty pictures of this little creature.

I'm not sure if you can tell from the picture, but this toad is only a little longer than one inch. That's about the length of one section of your finger from knuckle to knuckle for all of you who use the metric system. You can also look at the leaves in the picture to get an idea how big the toad is.

American ToadA good thing about toads like this one is that along with some birds, it might eat those spiders I showed you yesterday. As a matter of fact I noticed that robins like that trail with the spiders very much. They must be having a lot of fun eating all of those tiny spiders. Once the tadpoles become toads, they'll probably wipe out all of those spiders.

It's really strange how one little decision can change things. I almost didn't take that shortcut because it's not a real park trail. When I decided to do it I thought I might miss seeing a squirrel or something like that. How was I to know I would just happen to find this little toad?

17 comments:

  1. This one really has the wonderful camelflage in deed

    Good capture of the frog!

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  2. What a wonderful adventure you had yesterday! I like the camouflage on the toad!

    Have another wonderful adventure today, though it looks like rain over here already.

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  3. I'm glad you got to photograph more toads Ratty. Maybe I'll post my Toad pics from last summer because I won't be bringing in another one for a photo shoot.Ha! I should be seeing lots of them in the next month.

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  4. I went back to my hard disk for my "Malaysian" toad. It looked darker than yours.

    Uhh... they were different, at least on colour.

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  5. Thanks Ratty for the explanation between toad and frog. I get a little bit confused sometime with these two.

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  6. He's a cute little guy although with a not so happy face. Great photos of him. By the way, you've received an award from me at http://poeticshutterbug.blogspot.com/2009/05/one-lovely-blog-award.html

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  7. wow, excellent information, i actually have forgotten the difference between toad and frog, to me, they are simply frogs :) , thanks a lot for the information you shared. Like Rainfield, the toads I remember we have in the Philippines are darker.

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  8. He is pretty cute. We had a similar experience while taking a hiking trail at the base of a mountain once. They were hopping all over the place and there were so many!!!! I am glad you finally found one and got some good photos. It was like fate or something, wasn't it? (you Toad Whisperer, you!)

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  9. Oh, that little toad is very cute. I think their other secret defense is pee. Yep. Every single time you catch one of these guys, they pee all over you! And then you scream and drop it, and they hop away smiling. Yep--secret defense.

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  10. Roentarre - That was the first thing I noticed too, but I forgot to mention it in my story. :)
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    IcyBC - It was very hard for me to see the toad unless I looked very closely. The camera saw it well enough though.

    We both usually have the same weather so there's rain here too. Even if I don't find something worth showing from today, I have plenty of good stuff in my archives.
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    Ginnymo - I know I'll be seeing plenty more toads very soon. I just saw your pictures of your toad and they were great. You always have some of the best pictures. I hope others are smart enough to take a look too.
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    Rainfield - This one might get darker as it gets older too. I think it's probably a very young toad.
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    Vanilla - I was always very confused about them before. Until we look closely, they all really look the same.
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    Poetic Shutterbug - He probably was unhappy and frightened out of his mind. Thanks for the award, I appreciate it.
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    Betchai - I always thought of them the same too even though I was always told they are very different from each other. Now I know they are really all frogs. Like I told Rainfield, this one might get darker with age.
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    The Retired One - It's a really strange feeling to see all of those hopping toads. This one was almost like fate. I was actually thinking about them when I found this one. I actually was whispering to this one, but I don't think it understood anything I said.
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    Lin - Thanks, that's the other defense I forgot to write about! I read something that said the same thing. It said it's going to happen every time, and not to be afraid. That pee defense was the best part and I forgot to include it, so I'm glad you did.

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  11. That is a handsome toad you have shown there! I have missed our toads this year. It was too dry for them to even lay eggs...so sad for me and the kids as we love to watch them develop!! The other thing maybe to note is that toads are in the genus Bufo and frog mostly in the genus Hyla so they are close cousins. But yeah! I think it goes unrealized that toads are a kind of frog.

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  12. Oh oh oh...and the genus Rana as in BULLFROGS. Eekkk! They are kind of gross. I like my tree frogs thankyouverymuch!

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  13. Julia - Great information! I kind of glossed over this while I was researching toads. I'm glad you brought it up because it shows the difference between them. And I didn't know that bullfrogs were a different genus than the other two. We still have ponds full of tadpoles here so the toads will be coming in force soon.

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  14. That was great to see and read about. We don't see many here in Cyprus, the drought conditions don't help.

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  15. Glynis - In just a short time there will be millions of these toads hopping along these trails here. So far this is only the second one I've seen this year.

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  16. Ratty--I'm glad you're looking for information about toads--I love the little guys, too.
    And you're right to say they're both amphibians.
    I've done a lot of pond walking--in fact, will head out with boots tonight.

    Dark summer nights are great nights for both frogs and toads!

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  17. Nina - I'm hoping to see more toads. I'm beginning to wonder though if my trails will be full of them like they have been in years past. It's beginning to look like they're not coming. I'm still hoping to see them though.

    I hope to find somewhere that I can look for nighttime animals. My nature parks are all closed at night. I have a few ideas though.

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