home   Printer friendly version Add to site
Advanced search
Time & Space Fossil Gallery Famous Flora & Fauna
Careers Resources K-12 Collections PaleoPeople

Frogs and Toads

What are Frogs and Toads? The frogs and toads form the group Anura, which means “no tail.” In addition to lacking a tail, the members of this group have other modifications for their jumping habit, including hind limbs longer than their forelimbs, a flexible pelvis, and posterior vertebrae fused into a urostyle. There is no scientific distinction between frogs and toads, but in general, frogs have smooth skin, live in the water and have longer hind limbs, whereas toads have dry, warty skin, live on land, and have shorter hind limbs. The fossil record of frogs and toads is patchy, in part because their delicate skeletons can break apart easily. One fossil from the Early Triassic of Madagascar has some characters of both salamanders and frogs, and has been called a “proto-frog,” but the earliest true frogs date back to the Early Jurassic.

First known fossil occurrence: Jurassic.

Last known fossil occurrence: Quaternary. This group has living relatives.

Cool Frogs and Toads links:

Search for images of Frogs and Toads on Google

See Frogs and Toads from the:

Quaternary
Tertiary
Cretaceous
Jurassic
Triassic
Permian
Carboniferous
Devonian
Silurian
Ordovician
Cambrian
Precambrian
help