Frogs and Toads of West Virginia
If you are looking to identify certain frogs and toads that you found 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
West Virginia is home to a variety of different frogs from the tree frog and true frog families.
True Frog Family – Ranidae
American Bullfrog (Rana catesbeianus)
Common Name: American Bullfrog
Scientific Name: Rana catesbeianus
Location: Statewide
Breeding Season:
Common Name: Green Frog / Bronze 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 they lack a dorsal ridge down their back.
Northern Leopard Frog (Rana pipiens)
Common Name: Northern Leopard Frog
Scientific Name: Rana pipiens
Location: Western half of the state
Breeding Season:
Common Name: Pickeral Frog
Scientific Name: Rana palustris
Location: Statewide
Breeding Season:
Pickeral Frog and Northern Leopard Frog look very similar to each other because of the spots but the Pickeral frog’s spots are more rectangular than the Northern Leopard Frog.
Common Name: Wood Frog
Scientific Name: Rana sylvaticus
Location: Statewide
Breeding Season:
The Wood Frog is the easiest true frog to identify in West Virginia. They are brown, red, or silver in color and they have dark “raccoon” eyes.
Tree Frog – Hylidae
Blanchard’s Cricket Frog (Acris blanchardi)
Common Name: Blanchard’s Cricket Frog
Scientific Name: Acris blanchardi
Location: Western edge of the state
Breeding Season:
Blanchard’s Cricket Frog can be distinguished from the other tree frogs because of its size and lack of markings on its back.
Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer)
Common Name: Spring Peeper
Scientific Name: Pseudacris crucifer
Location: Statewide
Breeding Season:
Mountain Chorus Frog (Pseudacris brachyphona)
Common Name: Mountain Chorus Frog
Scientific Name: Pseudacris brachyphona
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.
Eastern Gray Tree Frog (Hyla veriscolor) and Cope’s Gray Tree Frog (Hyla chrysoscelis)
Common Name: Eastern Gray Tree Frog
Scientific Name: Hyla versicolor
Location: Statewide
Breeding Season:
These two frogs are identical besides their calls and chromosome numbers. These tree frogs are also larger than the other tree frogs in the state. Also note that Gray Tree Frogs are not always gray and can be green.
Common Name: Cope’s Gray Tree Frog
Scientific Name: Hyla chrysoscelis
Location: Statewide
Breeding Season:
Toads
West Virginia doesn’t have many toads – only three from two different families.
True Toad Family – Bufonidae
The family Bufonidae is known as the True Toads. They are known for their parotoid gland behind their eyes that secretes a poison.
American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus)
Common Name: American Toad
Scientific Name: Anaxyrus americanus
Location: Statewide
Breeding Season:
Common Name: Fowler’s Toad
Scientific Name: Anaxyrus fowleri
Location: Statewide
Breeding Season:
The difference between the Fowler’s Toad and American Toad involves the head. In the American Toad, the parotoid gland the the crest behind its eye does not touch while the Fowler’s Toad has them touching.
Scaphiopodidae – Spadefoot Toad Family
Common Name: Eastern Spadefoot Toad
Scientific Name: Scaphiopus holbrookii
Location: Western edge of the state
Breeding Season:
Eastern Spadefoot Toad is the only spadefoot toad in the state. Just see if they have a spade on their rear feet.
