Frogs and Toads Click on the scientific family names below for descriptions, pictures and calls of the species in that family. The Savannah River Site, rich in wetlands, provides habitat for many species of anurans, the frogs and toads.
True frogs have powerful hind legs with extensive webbing on their back feet for swimming.
Treefrogs have sticky disks on their toes for climbing, and toads have a drier skin for a more terrestrial existence. This process takes longer in some species than in others. Spadefoot toads, for example, often breed in temporary pools, so their development time must be brief to avoid drying. They metamorphose in just a few weeks. The more aquatic bullfrog drops her eggs in permanent waters, and the tadpoles may take as long as two years to complete development.