From the mountains to the coast, North Carolina is teeming with amphibians, which include many different types of frogs, toads, and salamanders. Explore the various types of frog and toad species found throughout the state of North Carolina with this guide.

Index Of Frogs And Toads By Name

Index Of Salamanders By Name

American Toad

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Amphibia

Order

Salientia

Family

Bufonidae (Toads)

Genus

Anaxyrus (formerly Bufo)

Species

A. americanus

Binomial Name

Anaxyrus americanus (formerly Bufo americanus)

American Toad Images

How To Identify American Toads

  • American Toads are large amphibians that can grow to 4.4 inches (11 cm) long.
  • They have:
    • Short bodies.
    • Rounded snouts.
    • A single vocal sac that is round when inflated while calling.
    • Gold eyes with oval pupils.
    • Prominent ridges over their eyes (called “cranial crests”).
    • Large parotid glands that appear as raised, kidney bean-shaped lumps behind their eyes and are separated from their cranial crests.
    • Bumpy, brown to gray-brown skin covered in large dorsal warts.
    • Four toes on their fore legs and five, webbed toes on their hind legs.
  • Males and females look similar, although male American Toads have darker throats than females (Behler and King 2020).
  • American Toads look very similar to two other North Carolina toad species: the Fowler’s Toad (Bufo woodhousei), and the Southern Toad (Bufo terrestris).
    • All three species are widespread in North Carolina, with overlapping ranges, although the Southern Toad’s range starts farther south than the other two species.
    • Sometimes the three species can be differentiated by the size of their dorsal warts, the height of their cranial crests, and/or whether their parotid glands touch their cranial crests.
    • However, identification is difficult because the distinction between the three species are slight, and hybrids occur in nature (Martof et al. 1980).

American Toad Notes

  • American Toads are primarily nocturnal and abundant primarily in the cooler parts of the year (Martof et al. 1980).
    • Unlike many animals which are active at night, American Toads don’t seem to shy away from man-made light, probably for two reasons:
      • American Toads eat insects—and they eat a lot of them. Many insects are attracted to light, so remaining in the vicinity of man-made lights concentrates the toads’ food source and makes hunting the insects easier.
      • The parotid glands and skin warts of American Toads manufacture poison that deters many predators. So American Toads may be more apt to stand their ground compared to other nocturnal species that are not chemically defended.
  • American Toads mating season starts in March and lasts only for about two weeks (Tyning 1990).
    • Males and females congregate in their breeding ponds and males begin sing a long, musical trill known as an “advertising call” to attract the females.
      • Male toads have a vocal sac under their chins that inflates when they sing; a fully inflated vocal sac can be larger than the male toad’s head.
    • Most males sit upright in the water and compete with each other to produce the loudest, most resonant call, while the females listen closely and approach the most attractive males.
      • Other males prefer a more active approach. These males remain silent, swim through the water, and attempt to clasp with any moving object. Males can succeed with this strategy sometimes; other times, they can find themselves clasping their fellow hopeful males instead of females.
  • Females lay long strings of eggs of about 6,000 eggs (Martof et al. 1980) and attach them to submerged vegetation.
    • The eggs develop and hatch into tadpoles.
    • Competition for food and resources is fierce amongst the tadpoles. While they do not actively kill each other, American Toad tadpoles are passive cannibals; live tadpoles will feed on the bodies of their dead siblings (Heinen and Abdella 2005).
    • Many aquatic predators prey on the eggs and tadpoles, including fish in the Sunfish genus Lepomis like Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) fish (Smith et al. 2016, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-016-2680-3).
  • American Toads are very common in North Carolina. They live in nearly any moist habitat that includes lots of insects, including in home gardens and around homes with grassy lawns. They eat nearly anything they can catch and fit in their mouths, such as:
    • Insects like moths, beetles, crickets, leafhoppers, grasshoppers, and ants.
    • Spiders.
    • Other invertebrates like slugs, snails, and earthworms.
  • Adult American Toads produce poison as a defense against predation. However, while their poisonous nature deters some predators, it is by no means a universally effective defense. In one research study examining the post-breeding dispersal of female American Toads from their breeding sites, “predators took 10 of 16 female toads (62.5%) within 18 weeks” (Forester et al. 2006).
    • North Carolina predators known to prey on adult American Toads, despite their poisonous nature, include:
      • Garter Snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis)
      • Eastern Hognose Snakes (Heterodon platirhinos)
      • Common Raccoons (Procyon lotor)
      • Striped Skunks (Mephitis mephitis)
      • Virginian Oppossums (Didelphis virginiana)
      • Some ducks (Tyning 1990).
      • Screech Owls (Otis asio) (Tipton et al. 2012).
  • Predators of American Toad tadpoles:

Bullfrog

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Amphibia

Order

Salientia

Family

Ranidae (True Frogs)

Genus

Lithobates (formerly Rana)

Species

L. catesbeianus (formerly R. catesbeiana)

Binomial Name

Lithobates catesbeianus (formerly Rana catesbeiana)

Bullfrog Images

How To Identify Bullfrogs

  • Bullfrogs are the largest type of frog in North America and can grow up to 8 inches (20.3 cm) long.
    • Females grow larger than males and have smaller tympanums, and slimmer forearms (Martof et al. 1980).
    • Most of the largest individuals are females, since males are more active out in the open and thus, more exposed to predators (Tyning 1990).
  • They are stout-bodied and have:
    • Green heads.
      • Males have yellow throats; females have throats that are pale yellow to white.
    • Gold eyes with black pupils.
    • Very large tympanums.
      • Male tympanums are larger than their eyes; female tympanums are about the same size as their eyes.
    • A thin ridge of skin that runs behind each eye, behind each eardrum, and ends at the base of each fore leg.
    • Brown, green, or olive green bodies.
    • The base of the thumb on male forelegs is dark and enlarged compared to that of females.
    • Smooth backs that lack dorsolateral ridges seen in other frog species.
    • Hind legs either banded or blotched in brown and green.
    • Long, muscled hind legs tipped with feet that are fully webbed except for the last joint of their longest toe.

Bullfrog Notes

  • Bullfrogs are most active at night and are wary when resting out in the open during the day.
    • They spook easily and from some distance away.
    • Often the best indication that Bullfrogs live in a pond, lake, or slow-moving stream is the faint “ker-plunk” made by these large amphibians as they hop from the back into the water and (frustratingly) out of sight.
  • Bullfrogs prey mostly on insects, crayfish, other frogs, and small fish. But some individuals can grow large enough to catch and eat young snakes and even small birds (Behler and King 2020).
  • Bullfrogs are, in turn, eaten by many larger predators, such as:
    • Birds, like Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias) and Great Egrets (Ardea alba)
    • Reptiles, especially Snapping Turtles (Chelydra serpentina)
    • Mammals, like Raccoons (Procyon lotor), Northern River Otters (Lutra canadensis) and Minks (Mustela vison).
      • Because these frogs are so attractively edible to predators, Bullfrogs most often live in large ponds and lakes that have lots of vegetation in which they can hide.
  • Large male Bullfrogs defend territories that can range in size between six and twenty feet in diameter. During these fights for dominance, males wrestle and try to gouge each other with their thumbs. Fights can last for several minutes and usually end with one of the combatants hopping off in defeat (Tyning 1990).
    • Smaller males invading the large males’ territories may be either not challenged at all or chased out of the territories quickly without much physical contact.
  • Females lay approximately 12,000 eggs, which are fertilized by the males as the eggs emerge from their bodies (Tyning 1990). The eggs hatch after 5 days and the tadpoles metamorphose into adult frogs a year later (Martof et al. 1980).
  • Bullfrog tadpoles are a type of frog that can grow startlingly large.
    • The tadpole pictured in the photo gallery was about 6 inches long and had a head about the size of a golf ball.
  • Humans have introduced the Bullfrog into areas beyond its traditional, native range for food production and through irresponsible pet trade and pet owner practices.
    • The biologicial invasion of non-native animals usually hurts native animal populations in some way, such as out-competing the natives in some way, predating the native species, or carrying diseases for which the native species have no natural immunity. Unfortunately, Bullfrogs tick all these boxes.
      • Because they are so big throughout each of their life stages, Bullfrogs are voracious eaters that consume a great deal of food.
      • Adult Bullfrogs are also voracious predators that can and do consume creatures up to nearly their own body size. This includes their smaller frog cousins, like Green Frogs (Lithobates clamitans).
      • And Bullfrogs also carry a pathogenic, chytrid fungus called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (“Bd” for short) that kills other amphibians (Miaud et al. 2016).
    • However, nature is always more complex than it appears at first glance, and the invasion of Bullfrogs into non-native environments is no exception. Some animal species show positive effects to invasive Bullfrogs.
      • In one study of invasive Bullfrogs in Uruguay, three fish species in family Characidae appeared to be positively affected by the presence of Bullfrogs, possibly because these fish are not consumed by Bullfrogs (unpublished data). The fish in ponds that included Bullfrogs grew substantially larger than the fish in ponds that included only native species:

Green Frog

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Amphibia

Order

Salientia

Family

Ranidae (True Frogs)

Genus

Lithobates (formerly Rana)

Species

L. clamitans (formerly R. clamitans)

Binomial Name

Lithobates clamitans (formerly Rana clamitans)

Green Frog Images

How To Identify Green Frogs

  • Green Frogs are medium-sized frogs that grow up to 4 inches (10.2 cm) long.
  • Two sub-species are recognized: Green and Bronze.
    • The green sub-species is green or green-brown colored.
    • The bronze sub-species is brown or bronze colored.
  • Green Frogs have:
    • Smooth skin.
    • Large tympanums.
      • Male tympanums are larger than their eyes; female tympanums are about the same size as their eyes.
    • Prominent dorsolateral ridges that extend halfway down their backs and do not reach their groins.
    • White bellies.
    • Males have yellow throat patches and enlarged thumbs that darken during breeding season. The throat patches on females are white.

Green Frog Notes

  • Green Frogs live close to shallow water and are widespread across North Carolina.
    • Look for them in and near springs, swamps, streams, ponds, and lakes, as well as near fallen trees in very moist areas.
  • In my experience, Green Frogs are much less wary than other common frog species, especially the Bullfrog. They hold their positions for a surprisingly long time if approached slowly and calmly, although they hop into water and disappear rapidly in response to sudden movement or noise.
  • Green Frogs breed throughout the summer, from about March to August (Behler and King 2020).
  • Green Frogs may change sex, and this transition may be a normal part of their biology.
    • A research study by Max Lambert and co-authors studied 464 adult Green Frogs and found evidence of sex reversal in both directions, including:
      • 8.5% of genetic females that showed male traits
      • 3% of genetic males that showed female traits (Lambert et al. 2019)
  • Male Green Frogs establish and defend territories that can range in size between three and twenty feet in diameter.
    • Male Green Frog advertise for mates by sitting upright with their heads and bodies clear of the water and giving calls that sound like a plucked banjo string.
    • When a non-resident male invades another male’s territory, the resident male gives a single warning call that sounds like their mating call, only louder and more abrupt.
    • If the invader fails to retreat, the males will fight. Green Frogs make long, soft growling sounds right before, and during, wrestling matches for dominance (Tyning 1990).
  • Both male and female Green Frogs give a special call that sounds like a series of chirps, but they give this call in different scenarios and, presumably, for different reasons.
    • Females chirp either when they have already deposited their eggs or when they don’t have eggs to lay.
    • Males chirp when they are in the midst of losing a dominance wrestling match with a larger, more aggressive male (Tyning 1990).
    • The sound seems to represent a “release call”—a signal to other frogs to let them go, or leave them alone.
  • Female Green Frogs lay around 3000 to 5000 eggs at a time. The eggs float in large mats or are draped over submerged vegetation and hatch in three to seven days.
    • Tadpoles that hatch early in the summer transform into adult frogs by the fall.
    • Those that hatch later in the summer overwinter in their ponds and transform the following spring.
  • Green Frogs eat a wide variety of arthropods, like insects and spiders, molluscs, like snails and slugs, and aquatic crustacheans.
  • They are, in turn, eaten by a wide variety of predators.
    • Predators of tadpole Green Frogs include predatory fish, like Eastern Mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) and Pirate Perch (Aphredoderus sayanus), Bullfrog tadpoles, and dragonfly larvae.
      • Green Frog tadpoles reduce their activity when they sense chemical cues in the water that indicate dragonfly larvae, such as Common Green Darners (Anax junius) or Comet Darners (Anax longipes), recently fed on other Green Frog tadpoles (Fraker 2008, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-008-0549-9).
    • Predators of adult Green Frogs include:
      • Birds like Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias), Great Egrets (Ardea alba), and American Bitterns (Botaurus lentiginosus).
      • Reptiles like Snapping Turtles (Chelydra serpentina) and Northern Water Snakes (Nerodia sipedon).
      • Mammals, like Raccoons (Procyon lotor), Northern River Otters (Lutra canadensis) and Minks (Mustela vison).
      • Bullfrogs

Green Tree Frog

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Amphibia

Order

Salientia

Family

Hylidae (Treefrogs or Tree Frogs)

Genus

Dryophytes (formerly Hyla)

Species

D. cinereus (formerly H. cinerea)

Binomial Name

Dryophytes cinereus (formerly Hyla cinerea)

  • The common name for this species is written “Green Treefrog” or “Green Tree Frog” in scientific literature.
  • This species is sometimes referred to as the “Bell Frog” or “Cowbell Frog” because of the ringing sound of the males’ mating call (Tipton et al. 2012).

Green Tree Frog Images

How To Identify Green Tree Frogs

  • Green Tree Frogs are small, easily identifiable frogs that grow to 2.5 inches (6.4 cm).
  • The bodies of both males and females are bright green, and have a sharply defined white side stripe that is edged in dark brown. The side stripes start at the frogs’ snouts and end at their groins.
    • Tree Frogs change color in response to environmental conditions, like light intensity, moisture, temperature, and stress , and for camouflage against predators (Tipton et al. 2012).
    • Green Tree Frogs change color less dramatically than some of their cousin species, such as the Squirrel Tree Frog, but can still vary from deep, vibrant moss green to pale, celery green depending on the conditions.
  • They also have:
    • Gold eyes with horizontal, black pupils.
    • A vocal sac under their throats that inflates into a single, large, round balloon.
    • Smooth skin.
    • Long legs with large, adhesive toe pads ideal for gripping vertical surfaces.

Green Tree Frog Notes

  • Green Tree Frogs live in vegetation near permanent bodies of water, rather than in water like true frogs, such as Bullfrogs and Green Frogs.
    • They congregate in large groups, so if you see one Green Tree Frog, look around for more.
    • During the day, they sleep upside down under large leaves or in other moist, shady spaces in a distinctive posture with their forelegs tucked under the chins.
  • Green Tree Frogs breed from March to October in North Carolina (Behler and King 2020).
  • Male Green Tree Frogs climb to perches 1.6 – 6.6 feet (0.5 – 2 m) above standing water, and advertise for mates by sounding a honking, bell-like call, which they repeat around 30 – 60 times a minute (Tipton et al. 2012).
  • Green Tree Frogs eat spiders and insects, especially leafhoppers and grasshoppers.
  • Predators of tadpole Green Tree Frogs include:
    • Predatory fish, like Eastern Mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) and Pirate Perch (Aphredoderus sayanus).
    • Bullfrog tadpoles.
    • Dragonfly larvae.
    • Giant Water Bugs.
    • Predaceous diving beetles.
  • Predators of adult Green Tree Frogs include:
    • Arboreal mammals, like Raccoons (Procyon lotor) and Virginia Oppossums (Didelphis virginiana).
    • Many snakes, like Rough Green Snakes (Opheodrys aestivus), Eastern Garter Snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis), and Corn Snakes (Elaphe guttata),
    • Other frogs
    • Turtles

Squirrel Tree Frog

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Amphibia

Order

Salientia

Family

Hylidae (Treefrogs or Tree Frogs)

Genus

Dryophytes (formerly Hyla)

Species

D. squirellus (formerly H. squirella)

Binomial Name

Dryophytes squirellus (formerly Hyla squirella)

  • The common name for this species is written “Squirrel Treefrog” or “Squirrel Tree Frog” in scientific literature.

Squirrel Tree Frog Images

How To Identify Squirrel Tree Frogs

  • Squirrel Frogs are small frogs that grow to about 1.6 inches (4.1 cm) long.
  • Tree Frogs change color in response to environmental conditions, like light intensity, moisture, temperature, and stress, and for camouflage against predators (Tipton et al. 2012)
    • Squirrel Tree Frogs change color dramatically, especially compared to their cousin species, the Green Tree Frog.
    • Depending on conditions, Squirrel Tree Frogs can vary from bright moss green to a pale, muddy green-brown.
  • They have:
    • Smooth skin.
    • A faint, indistinct, white side stripe that starts along their upper jaws and extends to their groins.
    • Pale bellies.
    • A vocal sac under their throats that inflates into a single, large, round balloon.
    • Gold eyes with horizontal pupils.
    • Long, slender legs.
    • Long toes tipped with wide adhesive toe pads.

Squirrel Tree Frog Notes

  • Squirrel Tree Frogs are arboreal and found along the coastal plain of North Carolina.
    • Look for them in moist wooded habitats.
  • Squirrel Tree Frogs prefer to walk, climb, or crawl rather than hop or jump to get around.
  • Green Tree Frogs climb well, thanks to two special modifications of their toes:
    • First, their toes end in large, adhesive pads ideal for gripping vertical surfaces.
    • Second, they can rotate the last joint of each toe backwards and to the side. This swivel action keeps their adhesive toe pads flat against the climbing surface (Tipton et al. 2012).
    • Green Tree Frogs climb even smooth, vertical surfaces like window glass easily; natural surfaces like tree bark pose no challenge for them at all.
  • Squirrel Tree Frogs eat nearly any kind of small arthropod, including:
    • Flies
    • Beetles
    • Pill bugs
    • Spiders
    • Crickets
    • Ants
  • In turn, Squirrel Tree Frogs are eaten by a variety of predators:
    • Squirrel Tree Frog tadpole predators include:
      • Dragonfly larvae.
      • Giant water bugs.
      • Predaceous diving beetles.
      • Predatory fish like Mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) and Pirate Perch (Aphredoderus sayanus).
  • Predators of adult Squirrel Tree Frogs include:

Eastern Newt

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Amphibia

Order

Caudata

Family

Salamandridae (Newts)

Genus

Notophthalmus

Species

N. viridescens

Binomial Name

Notophthalmus viridescens

  • Juvenile Eastern Newts are called “efts”.
  • Juvenile and adult Eastern Newts look very different from one another.
    • The Eastern Newt pictured below is an adult.
  • Eastern Newts secrete toxic substances through their skin, which renders them unpalatable to predators, like fish (Behler and King 2020).

Eastern Newt Images

How To Identify Eastern Newts

  • Eastern Newts grow between 2.5 – 5.5 inches long (6.4 – 14 cm).
    • Skin looks rough rather than slimy.
  • Juvenile and adult Eastern Newts look very different from one another.
    • Juveniles (called “efts”):
      • Vary in color from red-brown to bright, neon orange (Martof et al. 1980)
      • Have dark eyes rimmed in bright yellow above and below.
      • Have long, slim, tails that are round in cross-section and resemble the tails of lizards.
    • Adults are yellow-brown to olive green above and yellow with black spots below and have:
      • Small, black spots along their backs and tails.
      • Larger, bright red dots rimmed with black in a single row on each side of the bodies.
      • Very long, laterally flattened, paddle-shaped tails lined on top and bottom with flexible membranes that help them swim.
      • Dark eyes rimmed in yellow-brown or olive green.

Eastern newt Notes

  • Most Eastern Newts transform several times over the course of their lives, from egg, to aquatic larvae, to terrestrial efts, to aquatic adults.
    • Efts are terrestrial and live in moist forested environments.
      • When efts develop into adult newts, they leave their forest habitats and transition to an aquatic lifestyle.
    • Adult Eastern Newts live in ponds, lakes, and pools in and near rivers and streams.
    • However, in some parts of their range, Eastern Newts skip the terrestrial eft stage and develop straight into their adult form.
  • Eastern Newts manufacture toxins that exude onto their skin; efts have the greatest concentration of toxins (Tipton et al. 2012). This chemical defense is effective against many potential predators but not infallible. Eastern Newts are still preyed upon by:
  • Eastern Newts mate in spring and fall.
    • In preparation for mating, hormonal changes cause male Eastern Newts to develop:
      • Enlarged hind legs
      • Large, black, rough patches on the insides of their thighs and tips of their toes (Behler and King 2020).
  • Females deposit their eggs one at a time on leaves of submerged plants in late winter, spring, and into early summer.
    • They may fold the leaves over each egg to hide the eggs from view and protect them from predators (Martof et al. 1980).
  • The larvae hatch underwater after approximately 35 days, although the time frame varies (Martof et al. 1980).
  • In summer and fall, the aquatic larvae transform into efts, and leave the water for their moist terrestrial habitats.
  • Adult and larval Eastern Newts feed on a huge variety of other animals including:
    • Insects like beetles, flies and their larvae (including mosquitoes), caddis flies, stoneflies, butterflies and moths.
    • Spiders
    • Butterflies and moths
    • Frog and toad eggs and their tadpoles
    • Other aquatic invertebrates, like leeches and worms
    • Fish and other salamanders’ eggs.
  • Juvenile efts feed on worms and insects and their larvae, especially springtails (Behler and King 2020).