A toad is any of a number of species of amphibians in the order Anura (frogs) characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and snout-like parotoid glands. A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in taxonomy, but is common in popular culture, in which toads are associated with drier skin and more terrestrial habitats than frogs. In taxonomy, toads are spread across families Bufonidae, Bombinatoridae, Discoglossidae, Pelobatidae, Rhinophrynidae, Scaphiopodidae, and Microhylidae. A group of toads is called a knot.
The bumps on a toad's skin help the animal blend into its environment visually by breaking up its outline. Also, the parotoid gland is often mistaken for 'warts'. They are present on healthy specimens and are not a result of infection.
Famous quotes containing the word toad:
“Helpless, unknown, and unremembered, most human beings, however sensitive, idealistic, intelligent, go through life as passengers rather than chauffeurs. Although we may pretend that it is the chauffeur who is the social inferior ... most of us, like Toad of Toad Hall, would not mind a turn at the wheel ourselves.”
—Ralph Harper (b. 1915)
“Even a toad has four ounces of strength.”
—Chinese proverb.
“Ask a toad what beauty is, the supreme beauty, the to kalon. He will tell you it is his lady toad with her two big round eyes coming out of her little head, her large flat snout, yellow belly, brown back.”
—Voltaire [François Marie Arouet] (1694–1778)