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www.canetoads.com.au Phone: 08 9168 2576

Is it a Native Frog or Cane Toad?

Kimberley Toad Busters’ Definitive Table!

(Thank you to frog expert Mike Tyler for his helpful comments)

Email: fieldcoordinator@canetoads.com.au

Feature

Native Frog Features
(generally but with exceptions)

Cane Toad Features
Size
Generally smaller than cane toads, up to 11cm long.
Mature adult larger than most native frogs; average size adult length, nose to tail, 10 - 17.5 cm (at western colonising front).
Habit
Variety of habits.
Adults are nocturnal, and are often seen emerging from refuges once it is dark. Cannot jump relative distances that native frogs jump, will eat almost every animate object they can catch; cane toads average
activity one night in three or four, but sometimesare out on consecutive nights; does not drink but absorbs water through its soft belly skin; adults can survive in up to 40% sea water.

Colour, Markings and Appearance

Some frogs very similar colouring to cane toads; others have distinct bright colours, stripes; often cute and appealing.

Grey, yellowish, olive-brown or reddish-brown backs; bellies often paler with darker mottling.
Skin
Often smoother more slippery skin.
Away from water, skin on legs and back dry, extremely warty and leathery; males’ skin over spine rough, females’ spine skin smoother.
Face and Head Bones
 

Various appearances

 

Has distinct bony ridges starting above the eyes and meeting above the top lip in single distinct ridge; laterally directed nostrils.
www.canetoads.com.au Phone: 08 9168 2576

Is it a Native Frog or Cane Toad?

Kimberley Toad Busters’ Definitive Table!

(Thank you to frog expert Mike Tyler for his helpful comments)

Email: fieldcoordinator@canetoads.com.au

Feature

Native Frog Features
(generally but with exceptions)

Cane Toad Features
Eyes

Constricted pupil shape helps identify frog species. Horizontal or vertical constricted pupil?

Generally smooth round eye socket.

Has horizontal pupil; not perfectly round eye socket or eye shape. Set in warty bony socket with prominent front and top eye socket ridges .

Ears
External ear (tympanum) on native frogs can be obvious or hard to see, or maybe absent; in photo ear hard to see - just visible under skin fold.
Has clearly visible dry looking distinct external ear tympanum.

Toes

 
 
Often have discs/adhesion pads on toes’ tip; male frogs often have nuptial pads on first and sometimes front foot second finger.
Does NOT have discs or adhesion pads on end of fingers or toes; males have dark nuptial pads on first fingers when breeding (to help grip female in amplexing action).
Webbing
Webbing between toes on many frogs; less common between fingers.
 
 
Does not have webbing between front feet fingers; has leathery webbing between toes of hind feet at least half length of toes.
www.canetoads.com.au Phone: 08 9168 2576

Is it a Native Frog or Cane Toad?

Kimberley Toad Busters’ Definitive Table!

(Thank you to frog expert Mike Tyler for his helpful comments)

Email: fieldcoordinator@canetoads.com.au

Feature

Native Frog Features
(generally but with exceptions)

Cane Toad Features
Poison Gland

All frogs have glands in skin that secrete chemicals; some frogs have venom glands; glands found on various parts of body, including parotoid glands on shoulders but not prominent like on cane toad.

“Some of the [frog] secretions are toxic, e.g. those of Litoria rubella kills other frogs kept in the same collecting bag”, pers. comment Mike Tyler.
Has obvious large irregular oval - sometimes flat, sometimes bulging - poison gland (on its shoulder area behind the external ear tympanum), which may exude or more rarely squirt poison if squeezed or if the toad is stressed; skin over poison gland has pin pricked appearance; minute poison glands all over skin on cane toad’s back.
Posture
Frog postures commonly hunched and/or crouching; some frogs sometimes sit up proud see Giant Burrowing Frog.
Commonly, but not always, has a sitting up on its haunches, proud posture.

Call

 

Many varied calls by males.

  Males call, females lay pheromone trail; male mating call is long loud single note purring low decibel trill; Click on this link for male call.
Catchability

Often spring away fast and quickly, and very difficult to catch by hand.

Generally more bouncy, quick and flighty than a cane toad. Generally more easily scared than a cane toad.
CAN catch more easily because it cannot jump high, fast or far. It has a distinct hopping, relatively slowish gait.
www.canetoads.com.au Phone: 08 9168 2576

Is it a Native Frog or Cane Toad?

Kimberley Toad Busters’ Definitive Table!

(Thank you to frog expert Mike Tyler for his helpful comments)

Email: fieldcoordinator@canetoads.com.au

Feature

Native Frog Features
(generally but with exceptions)

Cane Toad Features
Eggs, breeding cycle

Single mass, smaller clumps, chains or individually in jelly or foam nests; in water, moist litter or soil or under sand surface. Frogs generally lay one to a few hundred eggs at a time.

Sites include ponds, dams, slow flowing shallow streams and billabongs. Long strings of gelatinous transparent jelly enclosing double rows of black eggs, which hang off rocks or fringing vegetation in ropey strands. Mature females can lay 35,000 eggs twice a year. Eggs can survive in fresh or brackish water.
Tadpole

Variety of colours, very few are black,

and generally have different shape from cane toad tadpoles.
Shiny black top and plain dark belly with short thin tail, short stumpy tadpole, disproportionately large head. Can form vast shoals.

Juvenile

Juvenile frogs usually similar to adult form.

 Some frogs have white line on back, similar to juvenile toad.

Juveniles greyer with red warty bumps, can have white line down centre of back.