Frogs and Toads of Louisiana

Louisiana is home to a great variety of different frogs and toads. If you need help identifying a frog or toad, check out this page – Frog Identification

Frogs

True Frog Family – Ranidae

The True Frogs are your typical frogs that you find along the shores of a lake or pond.

American Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana)

Common Name: American Bullfrog
Scientific Name: Rana catesbeiana
Location: Throughout state
Breeding Season:

The American Bullfrog is the largest frog in the state. They are found near permanent bodies of water such as large ponds, streams, and lakes. Once the males of the species reach sexual maturity, their throats turn bright yellow. They are very similar to Green Frogs but they don’t have a dorsal ridge down their back. It wraps around their tympanum.

Green Frog / Bronze Frog (Rana clamitans)

Common Name: Green Frog
Scientific Name: Rana clamitans
Location: Statewide
Breeding Season:

The Green Frog is a medium to large sized frog. They can be commonly found near pretty much any water body such as ponds, lakes, or streams. Once the males of the species reach sexual maturity, their throats turn bright yellow. Best way to tell them apart from other true frogs below is the dorsal ridge on its back does not go all the way down its back.

Common Name: Pig Frog
Scientific Name: Rana grylio
Location: Southern half of the state
Breeding Season:

American Bullfrog looks very similar to the Green Frog but the dorsal ridge wraps around the tympanum while the Green Frog’s dorsal ridge is incomplete and does not extend all the way to its rear. The American Bullfrog is also very similar to the Pig Frog but the Pig Frog has bolder spots / stripes on the back of its thighs while the Bullfrog has light spots.

Common Name: Pickeral Frog
Scientific Name: Rana palustris
Location: Northern part
Breeding Season:

The Pickerel Frog is a medium to large sized frog. Their dorsal ridge runs down from their eye to their back and inside there is rectangular boxes.

Common Name: Southern Leopard Frog
Scientific Name: Rana sphenocephalus
Location: Statewide
Breeding Season:

The Southern Leopard Frog is a medium to large sized frog that is brown or green in color with spots over their body. They have a white spot on their tympanum and their dorsal ridge goes straight all the way down their back.

Common Name: Crawfish Frog
Scientific Name: Rana areolatus
Location: Western half
Breeding Season:

The Crawfish Frog is a medium to large frog that is a light color but is covered in large dark spots. They have a white dorsal ridge that runs down their sides and a small tympanum. The Crawfish Frog gets its name from living in crawfish holes.

Common Name: Dusky Gopher Frog
Scientific Name: Rana sevosus
Location: Probably extinct in the state
Breeding Season:

The Dusky Gopher Frog was historically found in Louisiana but hasn’t been sighted in the state for at least 20 years.

Tree Frog Family – Hylidae

Not all the members of the tree frog family lives in the trees. You can find many of them on the ground. In the state, the family has 3 different genera that the tree frogs are separated into.

Cricket Frogs – Acris

Common Name: Blanchard’s Cricket Frog
Scientific Name: Acris blanchardi
Location: Statewide
Breeding Season:

The Blanchard’s Cricket Frog is a small, warty frog that varies in color from tan, brown, or green. They have a dark triangle between their eyes and a dark stripe on their thighs.

Common Name: Southern Cricket Frog
Scientific Name: Acris gryllus
Location: Eastern edge
Breeding Season:

The Cricket Frogs look really similar but there’s a few ways to tell them apart. The Southern Cricket Frog has a more pointed snout while the Northern Cricket Frog has a more blunt snout. The Southern Cricket Frog doesn’t have as much webbing on the back legs as the Northern Cricket Frog.

Tree Frogs – Hyla

Cope’s Gray Frog (Hyla chrysoscelis) and  Eastern Gray Tree Frog (Hyla versicolor)

Common Name: Eastern Gray Tree Frog
Scientific Name: Hyla versicolor
Location: Eastern part of the state
Breeding Season:

Common Name: Cope’s Gray Tree Frog
Scientific Name: Hyla chrysoscelis
Location: Statewide
Breeding Season:

The Gray Tree Frogs are nearly identical besides their calls and chromosome numbers. These medium sized frogs can be found perched in trees or on the side of your house. They are not always gray in color and can be green. They have yellow or orange coloration on their back legs.

Here is a video of some Eastern Gray Tree Frog males calling that I took

Common Name: Pinewood’s Tree Frog
Scientific Name: Hyla femoralis
Location: Southeast corner
Breeding Season:

The Pinewoods Frog is a medium sized frog ranging in color from brown, gray, or green. They have orange spots on their inner thighs.

Common Name: Bird-voiced Tree Frog
Scientific Name: Hyla avicoca
Location: Statewide
Breeding Season:

The Gray Tree Frogs, Pinewoods Frog, and the Bird-Voiced Frog look very much a like. The difference is the coloration on the inner thigh. Gray Tree Frogs have a brighter orange color on the thigh while the Bird-Voiced Frog is more greenish-yellow. The Pinewoods Frog has dots / spots on the inner thigh.

Green Tree Frog (Hyla cinerea)

Common Name: Green Tree Frog
Scientific Name: Hyla cinerea
Location: Statewide
Breeding Season:

The Green Tree Frog is a medium sized, smooth skinned, green frog with a distinct white stripe down its side. Yellow specks can be found on the backs of some frogs.

Common Name: Barking Tree Frog
Scientific Name: Hyla gratiosas
Location: Southeastern corner of the state
Breeding Season:

The Barking Tree Frog is a large, bright green frog with a white line on their lip that goes down their side and coarse skin.

Common Name: Squirrel Tree Frog
Scientific Name: Hyla squirella
Location: Everywhere besides the far north
Breeding Season:

The Squirrel Tree Frog is a medium sized, green or brown frog with a white lip and smooth skin. They can be spotted.

Chorus Frog – Pseudacris

Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer)

Common Name: Spring Peeper
Scientific Name: Pseudacrus crucifer
Location: Statewide
Breeding Season:

The Spring Peeper is a small chorus frog that can often be found on forest floor or low on trunks of trees. They can be hard to find due to their small size, however, in spring when they come to temporary ponds to breed, they are easier to find. They can be distinguished from other frogs due to their x on their back.

Video of a Spring Peeper calling, thanks to M Dwyer, @MustelidDwyer on twitter

Common Name: Cajun Chorus Frog
Scientific Name: Pseudacris fouquettei
Location: Statewide
Breeding Season:

The Cajun Chorus Frog is the most common chorus frog you will see in the state. It has three stripes down it’s back.

Common Name: Strecker’s Chorus Frog
Scientific Name: Pseudacris streckeri
Location: Northeastern part of Louisiana
Breeding Season:

Strecker’s Chorus Frog is listed as S1 (critically imperiled in Louisiana because of extreme rarity (5 or fewer known extant populations)) by the state.

Common Name: Ornate Chorus Frog
Scientific Name: Pseudacris ornata
Location: No longer found in the state
Breeding Season:

The Ornate Chorus Frog lacks any solid stripes down it’s back if you are lucky to see one. They have been listed as extirpated from the state. Historically, they were found in Southeastern part of the state.

Toads

True Toad Family – Bufonidae

The True Toads are your typical toad. They usually have a parotid gland behind their eyes that contain a poison called  It is not advised to let your dog eat these guys.

Common Name: Oak Toad
Scientific Name: Anaxyrus quercicus
Location: Southeastern corner of the state
Breeding Season:

The Oak Toad is the most easily identifiable toad in the state. It is the smallest of the group and has a light line down its back. The Oak Toad also has orange on the bottom of its feet.

American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus)

Common Name: American Toad
Scientific Name: Anaxyrus americanus
Location: Northeastern border
Breeding Season:

The American Toad is a medium sized toad with rough warty skin that’s primary brown in color but can have some black, gray, or red coloration. The toads can be found pretty much anywhere including urban areas. The American Toads’s parotid gland does not touch or connected to it by a spur.

Common Name: Fowler’s Toad
Scientific Name: Anaxyrus fowleri
Location: Statewide
Breeding Season:

The Fowler’s Toad is a small to medium sized toad ranging in color from brown, gray, and olive with a clear, white underside and a white stripe down its back. Its parotid gland touches its postorbital ridge.

Common Name: Southern Toad
Scientific Name: Anaxyrus terrestris
Location: Eastern edge of the state
Breeding Season:

The remaining three species of toads in Louisiana are a lot harder to distinguish between. To identify the differences, you have to look at the top of the head. The Southern Toad has knobs on the back of its head. The Fowler’s Toad’s parotid gland touches its post orbital ridge around its eye. Here’s an easy map I found that helps me.

Common Name: Coastal Plains Toad
Scientific Name: Incilius nebulifer
Location: Southern half
Breeding Season:

The Coastal Plains Toad is notable from the other toads because its in a different genus -Incilius. This genus has a more defined cranial crest than Anaxyrus.

Spadefoot Toad Family – Scaphiopodidae

Common Name: Eastern Spadefoot Toad
Scientific Name: Scaphiopus holbrookii
Location: Eastern edge
Breeding Season:

The Eastern Spadefoot Toad is a small to medium sized toad ranging in color from tan to brown with small warts They have bright yellow eyes with elliptical pupils. They have a dark spade on their hind feet.

Common Name: Hurter’s Spadefoot Toad
Scientific Name: Scaphious hurteri
Location: Northeastern corner of the state
Breeding Season:

The Eastern Spadefoot Toad and the Hurter’s Spadefoot Toad look a like. They both have sickle shaped spades on their feet. The Hurter’s Spadefoot Toad has a boss or bump between the eyes and the Eastern Spadefoot doesn’t.

Narrow Mouthed Toad Family – Microhylidae

Common Name: Eastern Narrow Mouthed Toad
Scientific Name: Gastrophryne carolinensis
Location: Statewide
Breeding Season:

The Eastern Narrow Mouthed Toad is a small, smooth toad that varies in color from gray, brown, black, and tan. They have a pointy head and a fat little body.

Introduced

Common Name: Rio Grande Chirping Frog
Scientific Name: Eleutherodactylus cystignathoides
Location: Southern edge
Breeding Season:

The Rio Grande Chirping Frog was possibly introduced to the state through the import of plants for greenhouses.

Common Name: Greenhouse Frog
Scientific Name: Eleutherodactylus planirostris
Location: Southern edge
Breeding Season:

The Green House Frog was accidentally introduced by shipments of plants, hence the name Green House Frog.

Common Name: Cuban Tree Frog
Scientific Name: Osteopilus septentrionalis
Location: Southeastern Louisiana
Breeding Season:

The Cuban Tree Frog is a large tree frog from obviously Cuba. They have a gigantic appetite which causes them to be highly destructive to the ecosystem.