Frogs and Toads of Oklahoma

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.

Oklahoma is home to a great variety of frogs and toad species.

Frogs

Frogs in the state are from two different families, Hylidae – the Tree Frogs, and Ranidae – the True Frogs.

True Frogs – Ranidae

Green Frog  / Bronze Frog (Rana clamitans)

Common Name: Green Frog / Bronze Frog
Scientific Name: Rana clamitans
Location: Eastern border 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. The Green Frog has partial dorsal ridge down the side of their body.

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.

Common Name: Plains Leopard Frog
Scientific Name: Rana blairi
Location: Everywhere besides eastern border of the state
Breeding Season:

Common Name: Southern Leopard Frog
Scientific Name: Rana sphenocephalus
Location: Eastern half of the state
Breeding Season:

The Plains and Southern Leopard Frog can be hard to tell apart. The Southern Leopard Frog’s dorsal ridge down their back is unbroken while the Plains dorsal ridge can be broken.

Common Name: Pickerel Frog
Scientific Name: Rana palustris
Location: Eastern border 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. 

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

The Crawfish Frog gets its name from living in crawfish holes. Its has skin fold on the side and a small tympanum.

Tree Frog Family- Hylidae

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.

Tree Frogs – Hyla

Eastern Gray Tree Frog (Hyla veriscolor) and Copes Gray Tree Frog (Hyla chrysoscelis)

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

Common Name: Cope’s Gray Tree Frog
Scientific Name: Hyla chrysoscelis
Location: Eastern half
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 Frogs calling that I took.

Common Name: Bird-Voiced Frog
Scientific Name: Hyla avivoca
Location: Southeastern corner
Breeding Season:

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

Common Name: Squirrel Tree Frog
Scientific Name: Hyla squirella
Location: Southeast corner of the state
Breeding Season:

Common Name: Green Tree Frog
Scientific Name: Hyla cinerea
Location: Southeastern corner of the state
Breeding Season:

The Green Tree Frog and the Squirrel Tree Frog look very much alike. The Green Tree Frog has a white stripe that runs down their side.

Chorus Frogs – Pseudacris

Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer)

Common Name: Spring Peeper
Scientific Name: Pseudacris crucifer
Location: Eastern edge of the state
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: Northern border
Breeding Season:

The Boreal Chorus Frog is a small sized Chorus Frog, ranging from brown, red, tan, to olive in color with three lines that run down its back and are rarely broken up but if they are, its usually only the middle stripe.

Common Name: Cajun Chorus Frog
Scientific Name: Pseudacris fouquettei
Location: Eastern half of the state
Breeding Season:

Cajun Chorus Frog has three stripes that run down its back that are often broken up and can appear as spots.

Strecker’s Chorus Frog (Pseudacris streckeri)

Common Name: Strecker’s Chorus Frog
Scientific Name: Pseudacris streckeri
Location: Everywhere besides the panhandle
Breeding Season: February to March

The Strecker’s Chorus Frog lacks doesn’t have any pattern of stripes or dots on its back. It has a line that runs through its eye and down its side though.

Spotted Chorus Frog (Pseudacris clarkii)

Common Name: Spotted Chorus Frog
Scientific Name: Pseudacris clarkii
Location: Statewide
Breeding Season:

The Spotted Chorus Frog obviously has spots that are green and are bordered by black.

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  (Anaxyrus americanus)

Common Name: American Toad
Scientific Name: Anaxyrus americanus
Location: Eastern edge of the state
Breeding Season:

The American Toad’s cranial crest and the parotoid gland to not touch or they are connected by a spur. Its found on the eastern part of the state.

Common Name: Fowler’s Toad
Scientific Name: Anaxyrus fowleri
Location: Eastern edge of the state
Breeding Season:

The Fowler’s Toad appears similar to the American Toad. Their postorbital ridge touches their parotid gland. They also have a white belly while the American Toad’s is speckled.

Common Name: Red Spotted Toad
Scientific Name: Anaxyrus punctatus
Location: Western half of the state
Breeding Season:

The Red-Spotted Toad’s cranial crest are not present or small. The parotoid gland is also rather small.

Common Name: Green Toad
Scientific Name: Anaxyrus debilis
Location: Southwestern part of the state
Breeding Season:

The Green Toad doesn’t have a prominent cranial crest but has an elongated parotoid gland.

Common Name: Texas Toad
Scientific Name: Anaxyrus speciosus
Location:
Breeding Season:

The Texas Toad ‘s cranial crests absent or weak with no stripe down its back. The tubercles on its feet are black and sharp edged.

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

The Woodhouse’s Toad has opposing L shaped cranial crests.

Common Name: Great Plains Toad
Scientific Name: Anaxyrus cognatus
Location: Everywhere besides eastern border area
Breeding Season:

The Great Plains Toad has V shaped cranial crest

Video of a male Great Plains Toad calling by Annika Enloe

Spadefoot Toad Family  – Scaphiopodidae

Common Name: Hurter’s Spadefoot Toad
Scientific Name: Scaphiopus hurteri
Location: Eastern half
Breeding Season:

The Hurter’s Spadefoot Toad has a sickle-shaped spade on their rear foot and have a boss / bump between the eyes.

Common Name: Couch’s Spadefoot Toad
Scientific Name: Scaphiopus couchii
Location: Southwestern part of the state
Breeding Season:

The Couch’s Spadefoot Toad has a sickle-shaped spade and has no boss / bump between the eyes.

Common Name: Plains Spadefoot Toad
Scientific Name: Spea bombifrons
Location: Statewide
Breeding Season:

.The Plains Spadefoot Toad has a bony boss / bump between its eyes and round spade on its rear feet that can help identify it.

Common Name: Mexican Spadefoot Toad
Scientific Name: Spea multiplicata
Location: Western half
Breeding Season:

The Mexican Spadefoot Toad has no boss between its eyes and has a round spade on its rear feet.

Narrow Mouthed Toad Family – Microhylidae

Common Name: Eastern Narrow Mouth Toad
Scientific Name: Gastrophryne carolinensis
Location: Eastern part of the state
Breeding Season:

The Eastern Narrow Mouthed Toad has a dark belly and often has a broad line down its back.

Common Name: Great Plains Narrow Mouthed Toad
Scientific Name: Gastrophryne olivacea
Location: Central Part of the state
Breeding Season:

The Great Plains Narrow Mouthed Toad has a light, unmarked belly and has no patterns and a few spots on its back.