Posted by maria wexler on June 14, 2006

Q: We found tiny frogs (toads?)under a rock by a pond, they are about the size of a fingernail. They appear to have just lost their tails. I thought maybe they were spring peepers but they don't have the "X" on their backs, rather they have spots evenly down their back a reddish orange color with a black circle around it - Any help? We've searched everywhere on the web - would like to save a 1/2 hour trip to the library...thanks!

Maria

Habitat: pond/lake

State: Pennsylvania

Habitat: pond/lake

A: I think you've found baby toads, not frogs. Young toads are especially small when they leave the water for life on land and make you think it must be one of the smaller species of amphibians. These little guys grow rather large (American Toad)eventually and are the common toads in your area. You might want to check out some websites that have photos of these toads but you'll not find many sites with shots of the newly terrestrial ones. Thanks for asking and I trust this helps avoid that trip to the library.

John Wiessinger ( June 15, 2006)

A: Whoops! Just saw the nice closeup of your animal and must revise my ID. This is a Fowler's Toad, not an American Toad. The Fowler's Toad (Bufo woodhouseii) has 3 or more warts within each dark spot - the American has only 1 or 2 warts in each dark spot. Thanks again for sharing.

John Wiessinger ( June 15, 2006)