Frogs and Toads

When you're in Kayuta Lake, it is just natural to come in close contact with frogs and toads - especially when you're with a kid who would not stop at anything to find one.



Below are some pickerel frogs we saw by the Kayuta dam. The pickerel frog (scientific name Rana palustris) can be identified by the "hand-drawn" squares on its dorsal surface. The squares can become confluent and appear like rectangles. They also have prominent ridges seen as the continuous white lines on its back.























We found this green frog at the Black River Canal towpath in Boonville. The northern leopard frog, which can also be brown in color, is characterized by the dark circular spots irregularly found throughout its body. Two light colored dorsolateral folds can be seen between the back and the sides.




We almost missed this toad hiding among the rocks by the dam. Toads are technically also frogs since they belong to the same order (Anura) of amphibians. (Click here if you don't believe it.) They can be distinguished from true frogs like the leopard and pickerel by their sturdy bodies, dry and warty skin and the presence of poison glands behind their eyes. I believe this is an Eastern American Toad, but I could be wrong.

For more information on frogs and toad, check out this identification guide from the Northern Prairie and Wildlife Research Center.

You can see more images and listen to the sounds of these frogs in a page from the Monocacy and Catochtin Watershed Alliance website.