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What kind of frog is this?

Trapper7

Loves VFT's!
I have these little guys all around my pond, but as soon as they get their feet and lose their tails, they hang out on my lawn. Are they frogs? Toads? I'm in Central Florida. I've looked on many websites that show different species of frogs in Central Florida, but I can't find these guys. My husband says they're called Rickets, but I did a search for them on Google and only Cricket Frogs come up.

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See how small they are and they stay this small

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Anyone know so I can look up some info on them. Would I be able to put them in with my Fire Bellied Toads?
 
Cricket Frog (Acris sp.) would be your best bet. They are the smallest type of tree frogs, have a warty appearing skin, and slight webbing between the rear toes only.
 
These little guys don't have warty skin or webbing between the rear toes. Also no trianglular mark behind it's head/between the eyes. ???
 
Do you seem to have "hoards" of these little guys right now in your lawn? Proportionally (head size to body size) the could be a metamorphing Bufo sp (toad). They often exist in plague like numbers for a few weeks after leaving their birth pond.

The body proportions may change as the amphibian mautures, so I wouldn't rule out an Acris species which as adults have much larger hind legs in proportion to the size on the head. I have never seen large numbers of juvenile cricket frogs, or any true frog species for that matter, however. (once again toads seem to be much more prolific).

Are there pads under the tips of the toes? If not, then more evidence is pointing towards some type of Bufo sp. Hope this information helps. Looking at the skin texture, it has to be either Bufo or Acris.

Lastly, while I'm certainly a novice in carnivorous plants, I actually have a couple of graduate level degrees in vertebrate zoology. Please let me know what you eventually ID these juveniles to be.
 
Yes there are tons of these little guys all around right now and there are still a bunch in the pond which haven't gotten their legs yet. I just checked and no there are no pads under the tips of their toes. I'll look up toad species in Central Florida and see if I can find these guys. Thanks spdskr!
 
You could try looking up Eleutherodactylus planirostris. They are fairly common in Central Florida and have a similar coloration. I'm not saying that's what it is but its worth a try. Or it could just be some mutated amphibian only found north of Orlando that was created when radioactive debris from the space shuttle fell in your yard.
 
Given that they are newly morphed it is going to be a bit of a hard call as they do not have full colouration and morphology.

I am inclined to agree with the assessment of cricket frogs though
 
Thanks guys. I emailed pictures to someone off this Florida frog species site, so maybe he'll be able to tell me. I'll let you know when I hear back from him :)
 
This is the responce I got today:

"Hi Niki -
Your froglet appears to be a toad, although it is nearly impossible to tell the
species apart at that age. They are most likely Southern Toads -- a native species
-- but could possibly be Cane Toads. Since Cane Toads are toxic to dogs, I would
suggest that you visit the USGS frog call lookup website and listen to the calls
of the Southern Toad and Cane Toad. If you have heard one of them calling from your
pond recently, the little toads are likely that species. Southern Toads sound a
bit like a cross between a hum and whistle, while Cane Toad calls are more of a
trill (sounds a bit like an owl). Sorry I couldn't be more help - feel free to email me photos of larger toads if you encounter them."


I have never seen any of those toads in my yard, or ever since I moved to Florida, so I really don't think it's either of those. I even told her that these little guys don't get much bigger than they are now. Oh well. I guess I'll never know :p
 
  • #10
I dont think it would be a cane toad, they are way to small to be cane toads, even at that age. I would agree with the others saying cricket frogs, but i may be wrong. If you can find any eggs that would be a help, though its proably to late for that.
 
  • #11
Yeah too late for that, lol. Oh well, she got back to me yesterday and told me how to raise one. So I went and caught one and we'll see what it turns into. It is a toad for sure though, not a frog. She said they stay small for a loooong time, so we'll see. I'll take pics occasionally to show how it's growing.
 
  • #12
o goody...

i love toads.....

lol they are just so much fun....
 
  • #14
Hmmm, they look a lot like both the Oak Toad AND the Cricket Frog. It'll be interesting to see which one it is.
 
  • #15
Just went outside and saw a ton of new eggs in my pond. These are different than the ones I've seen before (I have Leopard and Bull frogs, but I don't know which one lays what kind of eggs) These are kind of in a single line, the others I've seen were in a ball. Maybe these are the little toads? I emailed the frog lady again, so maybe we'll figure something out, but I doubt it since it's so hard to tell what they are.

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These leaves were in the water, I just pulled it out while I took the pic.

PENTAX1226.jpg


Edit: Nevermind. I'm pretty sure these are the Bull Frog eggs. I just noticed they're black and white...I didn't see that earlier.
 
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  • #16
When I first saw it I thought it looked like a spadefoot toad, but I don't know much about frogs.


If it turns out to be a cricket frog, you should get your camera and film yourself stepping on every one you see. Then send the video to the state wildlife division.

I bet they would be so happy that they would give you a free trip back to Cananda.
 
  • #17
Eggs laid in strands suggest another toad spawn, but I suspect a different species than you currently have young from. Most amphibians only spawn once per year and several toad species are mid summer breeders.
 
  • #18
Eggs laid in strands suggest another toad spawn, but I suspect a different species than you currently have young from. Most amphibians only spawn once per year and several toad species are mid summer breeders.

But these eggs are black and white inside, and I know Bull frog eggs are like that.

Mark, I don't know where Cananda is
???
 
  • #19
It's that giant country above the US where the people can't figure out if they are french or english but they all want to be American.
 
  • #20
I am late on this thread. I have no idea how long it takes them to morph(do you still have it?). If the arms and legs stay roughly that shape, it looks like a toad. Cricket frogs have fame for being able to jump something like 36 times their body length.
Kind of hard to say toad, when you see it all slimy and all, lol.
 
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