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toad

toad

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

toad name applied to certain members of the amphibian order Anura, which also includes the frog . Although there is no clear-cut distinction between toads and frogs, the name toad commonly refers to those species that have relatively short legs, stout bodies, and thick skins, and are less aquatic as adults than the long-legged, slender-bodied frogs.

Sometimes the term toad is restricted to the so-called true toads, members of the family Bufonidae. These are characterized by warty skins and prominent parotid glands behind the eyes and as a group are the most terrestrial of the order. In most the feet are only slightly webbed. They range in length from about 1 to 7 in. (2.5–18 cm). Most species belong to the genus Bufo; members of these species spend much of the time on land, generally near water. They generally live in cool, moist places and absorb moisture through the skin. The white fluid that they exude through the skin, as well as from the parotid glands, is very poisonous and causes intense burning if it comes in contact with the eyes or mouth; however, contrary to an old belief, it does not cause warts. Toads, like frogs, move on land by jumping and feed on insects and grubs. Also like frogs, they usually lay their eggs in water in strands of jelly. Fertilization is external. The egg hatches into a tadpole , a gilled, aquatic, larval toad that undergoes metamorphosis into the adult.

There are about a dozen Bufo species in the United States, among them the common American toad ( Bufo americanus ), Fowlers toad ( B. fowleri ), of the E United States, and the red-spotted toad ( B. punctatus ), of the Southwest. The cane, marine, or giant toad ( B. marinus ), a large toad native to Central and N South America, was widely introduced in warm regions (Caribbean, Pacific, Australia, and Florida) to control agricultural pests but is now regarded as an invasive species; they compete with and prey on native species, and their toxic secretions can kill predators.

The spadefoot toads, burrowing toads of the family Pelobatidae, are represented in the United States by several species of the genus Scaphiopus. Toads are classified in the phylum Chordata , subphylum Vertebrata, class Amphibia, order Anura.

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toad

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Copyright

toad Any of numerous species of tailless amphibians found throughout the world, except Australasia. Most are short and rotund, and move with a crawling or hopping gait. Toads are differentiated from frogs by having a rougher, bumpier skin and a rounder body with shorter legs. Length: 2–25cm (1–10in). Order Anura; family Bufonidae. See also tadpole
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toad

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

toad / tōd/ • n. 1. a tailless amphibian (Bufonidae and other families, order Anura) with a short stout body and short legs, typically having dry warty skin that can exude poison. 2. a contemptible or detestable person (used as a general term of abuse): you're an arrogant little toad. DERIVATIVES: toad·ish adj.

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toad

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | | Copyright

toad traditionally taken as the type of something unpleasant (and formerly believed to be venomous).

In Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows (1908), the wealthy, boastful, spoiled, but ultimately good-hearted Toad needs to be rescued and redeemed from his self-indulgent ways by Ratty, Mole, and Badger.

See also toady.
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "toad." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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toad

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

toad OE. tāde, tāda, (in place-names), shortening of tādi(ġ)e, early ME. also tadde (XII); of unkn. orig. Comp. toadstool XV (tode stole; earlier tad(e) stole XIV).
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T. F. HOAD. "toad." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "toad." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-toad.html

T. F. HOAD. "toad." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-toad.html

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toad

Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes | 2007 | Copyright

toad •abode, bestrode, bode, code, commode, corrode, download, encode, erode, explode, forebode, goad, implode, load, lode, middle-of-the-road, mode, node, ode, offload, outrode, road, rode, sarod, Spode, strode, toad, upload, woad •geode •diode, triode •barcode • zip code • unhallowed •carload • cartload • payload •trainload • caseload • freeload •peakload • shipload • coachload •boatload • truckload • wagonload •workload • anode • internode •epode • antipode • electrode •railroad •byroad, highroad •rhapsode • episode • cestode •nematode, trematode •cathode

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

Toads will help you get a jump on garden bugs.(Home Garden)
Newspaper article from: Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL); 3/22/2012
Toad-ally out of control: not all amphibians are exactly fragile. There are...
Magazine article from: The Evening Standard (London, England); 5/1/2002
MR. TOAD'S LAST RIDE
Transcript from: NPR Morning Edition; 9/7/1998

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toad. Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)

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