Frogs and Toads of Missouri

If you are looking to identify a specific frog and can’t figure it out from the page, you can check my Frog Identification and see how to contact me about helping you out.

Frogs

True Frog Family – Ranidae

Common Name: Crawfish Frog
Scientific Name: Rana areolatus
Location: Southwestern corner diagonally up to the northeastern corner
Breeding Season:

The Crawfish Frog gets its name from living in crawfish holes. Its has skin folds on the side and a small typanum. It also has a pair of vocal sacs for calling.

American Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana)

Common Name: American Bullfrog
Scientific Name: Rana catesbeiana
Location: Statewide
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.

Bronze /Green Frog (Rana clamitans)

Common Name: Green Frog / Bronze Frog
Scientific Name: Rana clamitans
Location: Everywhere besides western corner of the state
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: Plains Leopard Frog
Scientific Name Rana blairi
Location: Everywhere besides southcentral Missouri
Breeding Season:

Northern Leopard Frog (Rana pipiens)

Common Name: Northern Leopard Frog
Scientific Name: Rana pipiens
Location: Northern edge of the state
Breeding Season:

The Northern Leopard Frog is a medium to large species of semi aquatic species of frog. They vary in color from dark brown to slim green with fairly large spots all over their body.

Southern Leopard Frog *(Rana sphenocephalus)*

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

The Southern Leopard Frog has a white spot on its tympanum which can help differentiate the species from the other two. The Plains Leopard Frog is different from the Southern and Northern Leopard Frog because of its dorsal ridge. The Plains Leopard Frogs has a break and an indent near its butt while the North and South Leopard Frog just has a straight line.

Pickeral_Frog — Pickeral Frog (*Rana palustris*)

Common Name: Pickerel Frog
Scientific Name: Rana palustris
Location: Everywhere besides northwestern corner of the state
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.

Wood Frog (Rana sylvatica)

Common Name: Wood Frog
Scientific Name: Rana sylvatica
Location: Southeastern border and small spot on the southern border
Breeding Season:

The Wood Frog is a small to medium sized frog. They vary in color from brown, silver, or red and they have dark “raccoon” eyes. After breeding season, they are often found in the woods, far away from any water bodies.

Tree Frog Family – Hylidae

Blanchard’s Cricket Frog (*Acris blanchardi*)

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

The Blanchard’s Cricket Frog is the only cricket frog in the state. Its skin is relatively more rough than the other tree frogs in the state. It also has no distinct markings.

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

The Green Tree Frog has a white line that runs down its side. It doesn’t have any distinct markings on its back.

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

Common Name: Eastern Gray Tree Frog
Scientific Name: Hyla versicolor
Location: Everywhere besides southeastern corner of the state
Breeding Season:

Common Name: Cope’s Gray Tree Frog
Scientific Name: Hyla chrysoscelis
Location: Everywhere besides northeastern corner of the state
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

Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer)

Common Name: Spring Peeper
Scientific Name: Pseudacris crucifer
Location: Statewide besides western border
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 Chorus Frogs due to their x on their back.

Boreal Chorus Frog (Pseudacris maculata)

Common Name: Boreal Chorus Frog
Scientific Name: Pseudacris maculata
Location: Statewide
Breeding Season:

The Boreal Chorus Frog is a small sized Chorus Frog, ranging from brown, red, tan, to olive in color. They have three stripes on its back are often not broken and if one is, its the middle.

Cajun Chorus Frog (*Pseudacris fouquettei*)

Common Name: Cajun Chorus Frog
Scientific Name: Pseudacris fouqettei
Location: Southeast corner
Breeding Season:

Upland Chorus Frog (*Pseudacris feriarum*)

Common Name: Upland Chorus Frog
Scientific Name: Pseudacris feriarum
Location: Southeast corner
Breeding Season:

The Upland and Cajun Chorus Frog are both found in the Southeast part of the state. They are very hard to tell apart. The best way to tell is by their calls and through genetic testing. The stripes on their back are often broken and can even appear as spots.

Common Name: Illinois Chorus Frog
Scientific Name: Pseudacris illnoensis
Location: Southeastern corner
Breeding Season:

The Illinois Chorus Frog does not have a white line that extends off the lips while the other chorus frogs do.

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.

American Toad

American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus)

Common Name: American Toad
Scientific Name: Anaxyrus americanus
Location: Northern half
Breeding Season:

The American Toad’s cranial crest and the parotoid gland to not touch or they are connected by a spur.

Common Name: Great Plains Toad
Scientific Name: Anaxyrus cognatus
Location: Along the Missouri River
Breeding Season:

The Cranial Crests of the Great Plains Toad form a V shape between the eyes

Video of a male Great Plains Toad calling by Annika Enloe

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

Woodhouse’s Toad (*Anaxyrus woodhousii*)

Common Name: Woodhouse’s Toad
Scientific Name: Anaxyrus woodhousii
Location: Western half
Breeding Season:

The Fowler’s and Woodhouse’s Toads both have cranial crests that form opposing L shapes. The Fowler’s Toad has largest, dark spots on its back that have 3 or more warts in them.