Toads are a fairytale used by parents to frighten their children into obedience. They are used to conjure up images of an evil witch threatening to turn you into a toad. Now, at this point, you might be thinking: but, of course toads are real! You probably even think that you have seen a toad before, maybe even touched one. But let me tell you why you’re wrong.
Let me ask you a question: what do you think a toad is? Picture one in your mind’s eye. I’m guessing that you are thinking of some version of the following. A short, squat, bloated amphibian with no tail. Brown and bumpy, covered in warts — your imaginary toad is not at all attractive. Now, picture a frog. Most likely, I guess that there are probably only one or two real differences in your imagination. Your frog is green. See him there, supple and sleek, ribbiting on a lilypad in a silent pond; a frog hides a prince, but a toad just has warts.
Now, what if I told you that those differences really don’t mean much at all?
Let’s break it down. Frogs (and what you might call a toad) are all part of the amphibious order Anura. All members of this order of amphibian are considered to be frogs. There are a number of criteria that must be met in order to be considered a frog, but, regardless, all the species that are commonly referred to as frogs or toads fall into this order. However, among the numerous species that make up this order, there can be some division between true frogs and true toads.
True toads are primarily drawn from the family Bufonidae. These frogs are characterized as drier and bumpier (along with other less obvious distinctions). Essentially, everything you think of as toad-ness is wrapped up in this family. However, these differences are colloquial distinctions, not scientific distinctions. In fact, there is no scientific distinction between frogs and toads (see University of Michigan’s museum of zoology for more details). Essentially, to quote Bill Hamilton, a professor of Biology at Penn State, “all toads are frogs but not all frogs are toads.”
So, toads are not a scientific distinction but actually a colloquial catchall for a subset of frogs. However, even these distinctions are ambiguous at best. Whether it's considered a frog or a toad really lies in the opinion of the viewer. Is this one drier, bumpier, darker, or does it have shorter legs?
Which brings me to my final point. Calling something a toad is really a description, not of the animal in question, but of your perception of the animal. How you feel about the frog determines whether you will call it a frog or a toad. Generally, if your perception is negative, you will designate the creature in question as a toad. Even in the case of the well-loved children’s stories Frog and Toad, Toad is often the grumpy one. So, ultimately, the difference between a frog and a toad is only what you choose to make it be.