#weepingwillows-sweethibiscustea

[markscherz]

Mr Frog guy, what is the different between a frog & a toad?

This is probably the second most common question I receive, after "what's your favourite frog".

There is no difference, because this is a false dichotomy. It is not a comparison of equal categories. Toads are one of the ~55 frog families. Toads unequivocally are frogs.

If you want to know the difference between toads and some other family or clade of frogs, you would either have to be more specific, or identify features that are unique to toads—synapomorphies of Bufonidae. These are the differences between toads and all other frogs.

Synapomorphies of Bufonidae include the parotoid glands (but not present in all toads), some funky muscular arrangements, a weird bone in the skull, and the Bidder's organ, which is basically a backup ovary in male toads that allows them to become reproductively active females if their testes are damaged or removed surgically.

#frogs #toads #the more you know #anura #amphibians #zoology #herpetology #graphic design is my passion #answers by Mark #infographic #weepingwillows-sweethibiscustea #anon #anonymous #the list of countries without ANY frogs or toads of any kind is VERY short indeed #so Anon is either from Greenland or Iceland #or from a tiny or remote island somewhere #some lists say Qatar has no frogs but this is a lie #UAE has almost no frogs #but still some in some areas