Frogs and Toads of Virginia
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
American Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana)
Common Name: American Bullfrog
Scientific Name: Rana catesbeiana
Location: Statewide
Breeding Season:
Common Name: Green Frog
Scientific Name: Rana clamitans
Location: Statewide
Breeding Season:
The Green Frog and American Bullfrog looks the same but the Bullfrog can grow larger and the bull frog lacks dorsal ridges down their back.
Common Name: Atlantic Coast Leopard Frog
Scientific Name: Rana kauffeldi
Location: Southeastern corner
Breeding Season:
Common Name: Southern Leopard Frog
Scientific Name: Rana sphenocephalus
Location: Eastern half of the state
Breeding Season:
The Atlantic Coast Leopard Frog and Southern Leopard Frog are basically identical besides that the Atlantic Coast Leopard Frog has light markings on dark background on thigh while the Southern Leopard Frog is the opposite.
Common Name: Pickeral Frog
Scientific Name: Rana palustris
Location: Statewide
Breeding Season:
Pickeral Frog looks similar to the leopard frogs but it has rectangular markings instead of spots.
Common Name: Wood Frog
Scientific Name: Rana sylvatica
Location: Everywhere besides the southeastern corner
Breeding Season:
The Wood Frog has a raccoon like mask around its eyes that give it a distinct look.
Common Name: Carpenter Frog
Scientific Name: Rana virgatipes
Location: Eastern edge
Breeding Season:
The Carpenter Frog has two light bands down its back.
Tree Frog Family – Hylidae
Cricket Frogs – Acris
Common Name: Northern Cricket Frog
Scientific Name: Acris crepitans
Location: Eastern half
Breeding Season:
Common Name: Southern Cricket Frog
Scientific Name: Acris gryllus
Location: Southeast corner
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 Tree Frog (Hyla chrysoscelis) and Eastern Gray Tree Frog (Hyla versicolor)
Common Name: Eastern Gray Tree Frog
Scientific Name: Hyla versicolor
Location: Everywhere besides the southeastern corner and western panhandle
Breeding Season:
The Cope’s Gray Tree Frog and Eastern Gray Tree Frog are identical to the eye but there calls and number of chromosomes are different. They also have orange markings on their back legs.
Common Name: Cope’s Gray Tree Frog
Scientific Name: Hyla chrysoscelis
Location: Statewide
Breeding Season:
Common Name: Pine Wood’s Tree Frog
Scientific Name: Hyla femoralis
Location: Eastern half of the state
Breeding Season:
The Pine Wood’s Frog looks like the Gray Tree Frogs but the Pine Wood’s Frog has orange spots on its legs instead of markings.
Common Name: Green Tree Frog
Scientific Name: Hyla cinerea
Location: Eastern half
Breeding Season:
Common Name: Barking Tree Frog
Scientific Name: Hyla gratiosas
Location: Eastern half
Breeding Season:
Common Name: Squirrel Tree Frog
Scientific Name: Hyla squirella
Location: Southeast corner
Breeding Season:
The Green Tree Frog, Squirrel Tree Frog, and Barking Tree Frog are all very similar. The Barking Tree Frog has much rougher skin than the others. The Green Tree Frog has a white line down its side.
Chorus Frogs – Pseudacris
Common Name: Mountain Chorus Frog
Scientific Name: Pseudacris brachyphona
Location: Western edge of the state
Breeding Season:
Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer)
Common Name: Spring Peeper
Scientific Name: Pseudacris crucifer
Location: Statewide
Breeding Season:
Spring Peeper and the Mountain Chorus Frog are similar but the markings on their back can be used to tell them apart. The Spring Peeper has an X on its back while the Mountain Chorus Frog has 2 backwards parenthesizes that look like )(. Sometimes they touch that can kinda look like an x but there’s also a dark triangle between its eyes that the Spring Peeper doesn’t have.
Common Name: Brimley’s Chorus Frog
Scientific Name: Pseudacris brimleyi
Location: Eastern edge of the state
Breeding Season:
Brimeley’s Frog has a stripe through its eye and down the side. It also has no stripes on its back.
Common Name: Upland Chorus Frog
Scientific Name: Pseudacris feriarum
Location: Statewide
Breeding Season:
The Upland Chorus Frog has three stripes on its back that are often broken.
Common Name: Southern Chorus Frog
Scientific Name: Pseudacris nigrita
Location: Southeastern corner of the state
Breeding Season:
The Southern Chorus Frog has three stripes on its back but it has a more pointed snout. It also has darker markings than the other Chorus frogs.
Common Name: New Jersey Chorus Frog
Scientific Name: Pseudacris kalmi
Location: Accomack and Northampton counties
Breeding Season: February to April
The New Jersey Frog has three stripes on its back but they are broader and the dorsal stripes aren’t broken.
Common Name: Little Grass Frog
Scientific Name: Pseudacris ocularis
Location: Southeastern corner of the state
Breeding Season:
Little Grass Frog is similar to the other frogs with 3 stripes down its back but it’s smaller and has no white lines on the the lips.
The Little Grass Frog is the smallest frog in North America. Here is a video of one calling, thanks to Arik Hartmann
Toads
True Toad Family – Bufonidae
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 out of the group of four. 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: Statewide
Breeding Season:
Common Name: Southern Toad
Scientific Name: Anaxyrus terrestris
Location: Southeastern corner of the state
Breeding Season:
Common Name: Fowler’s Toad
Scientific Name: Anaxyrus fowleri
Location: Statewide
Breeding Season:
The remaining three species of toads in Virginia 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 postorbital ridge around its eye while the American Toads’s parotid gland does not touch or connected to it by a spur. Here’s an easy map I found that helps me.
Narrowed Mouth Toad Family – Microhylidae
Common Name: Eastern Narrow Mouthed Toad
Scientific Name: Gastrophryne carolinensis
Location: Eastern half of the state
Breeding Season:
The Eastern Narrow Mouthed Toad is the only narrow mouthed toad in the state. The narrow, pointed head makes it easy to identify. They are highly fossorial (living underground) so they are most likely seen after the rains.
Spadefoot Toad Family – Scaphiopodidae
Common Name: Eastern Spadefoot Toad
Scientific Name: Scaphiopus holbrookii
Location: Eastern edge
Breeding Season:
The Eastern Spadefoot toad is the only spadefoot toad in the state. It has a spade on its foot that it uses for burrowing in the sand.
