LEAP DAY 2024

Frogs and toads: Not the same animal

Tom Weaver, the curator of herpetology (the study of amphibians and reptiles) at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson, says this Sonoran Green toad is an example of the colorful wildlife found in the Southwest. This toad also shows one difference from frogs, which nearly always have a wet, slimy appearance.

Courtesy of Tom Weaver

Frogs are the unofficial Leap Day mascot and reason National Frog Legs Day is Feb. 29, according to web-holidays.com.

The recognition is in part because some would prefer frogs remain cute animals and essential parts of ecosystems and the global environment.

While the opportunity to celebrate Leap Day only comes once every four trips around the sun, the chance to identify frogs — and distinguish them from toads — can happen anytime one is out in one of the amphibians’ habitats.

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