Frogs and their allies!

A tiny, lovely frog perches on a downward-tilted leaf. They have a yellow body with almost ovular black stripes, and light blue-green legs with black spots.

This Mimic Poison Frog will only be your Valentine if you really mean it. They’re monogamous and mate for life, unlike any other species of frog! Despite their name, these frogs are poisonous - but they’re much less toxic than their relatives.
Ranitomeya imitator
Josh Allen, 2021, Peru, iNaturalist

A lovely green frog with a pale underbelly sits splayed on a broad leaf, revealing yellow and red hands and red feet with long, thick webbing between fingers and toes. They regard the viewer with narrowed pupils in yellow eyes.

The Malabar Gliding Frogs of India’s Western Ghats spend their lives gliding between trees. They even lay their eggs in trees, where tadpoles will drop into water only after they have hatched! Look at their beautiful webbing!
Rhacophorus malabaricus
Caesar Sengupta, 2011, India, via iNaturalist

A striking frog with textured green and brown skin extends its long pink tongue to eat a worm. The frog sits upon a plain cement floor, and has defined facial features with clear nasal and occipital ridges

The Gulf Coast Toad can be found along the Gulf of Mexico, from Mississippi to Veracruz. It can live in ponds, pools, beaches, prairies, parking lots - as long as there’s fresh water and it’s near the Gulf of Mexico, they’re interested!
Incilius nebulifer
Jack Cochran, 2021, USA, via iNaturalist

A multicolored frog with yellow, brownish-red, light green, and dark green dappled skin, with bulging brown eyes and a fairly flat and narrow snout.

The Crab-Eating Frog is the only marine amphibian alive today - as far as we know! It can swim in sea water briefly and in brackish water up to 2.8% salinity for extended periods. Tadpoles can survive up to 3.9% salinity!
Fejervarya cancrivora
Tunyu Chen, 2018, Taiwan, via iNaturalist

Beautiful!

Here’s Some in population variation on the Caribbean slope of Costa Rica!

A yellow frog with irregular brown and red markings on it face and arms faces the camera head-on. Each eye is the size of the rest of their head. Just massive eyeballs, very impressive. Their thin fingers and toes, seen gripping a stick, appear almost comically small in comparison.

The Imabura Tree Frog can be found in the lowland forests of Columbia and Ecuador. They make their homes around streams but are not aquatic or semi-aquatic; just being close to the water is enough to make them happy!
Boana picturata
Mario Humberto Yánez-Muñoz, 2004, Ecuador, via iNaturalist

4 vividly and almost uniformly blue frogs in a pond, heads and upper backs protruding from the water, the rest of their bodies submerged. At least 2 other frogs are barely visible in the background.

The Moor Frog is usually reddish brown, but the males turn a vibrant blue during mating season! This is essentially a photograph of the frog club.

Rana arvalis, Dariusz Kowalczyk, 2009, Poland, via iNaturalist

A yellow frog with black spots sits on a rock in front of a green screen. Their cranial posture is unlike other frogs; they appear to look up.

The Panamanian Golden Frog communicates by waving and gesturing to other frogs. You might not want to wave back, as some gestures are threats to rivals!

Atelopus zeteki, 2009, Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute

A beautiful green frog with pebbled, tubercular skin and patches of brown and black. They have stunning green eyes. They pose at the end of a branch, almost resting their chin on their hands.

This Vietnamese Mossy Frog wants you to have better opsec! Don’t put sensitive information in a text or email!

They are also semi aquatic, spending most of their day dozing in the water.

Theloderma corticale, 2006, Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute

A small frog sits on a large green leaf, unwebbed fingers splayed. They are a very pale yellow with brown spots in a reticulated pattern, much like a giraffe. Such a beauty!

The lovely Clown Tree Frog is another frog with multiple morphs, including reticulated pattern pictured here. These sociable frogs can congregate in groups of several hundred and don’t seem to mind human company!
Dendropsophus leucophyllatus, Zulma Correa Bernal, 2022, Peru, from iNaturalist

An olive green frog with white fingers, toes, and underbelly sits upon moist dark earth. They have a distinctive, bright green stripe along the midline.

The striped burrowing frog is able to burrow and remain dormant underground for up to 3 years. They’re able to slow their metabolisms and maintain muscle fiber during hibernation, and are being researched for potential human medical implications.

Ranoidea alboguttata, N Haass, Australia, 2024

A lovely gray tree frog clinging to a tree branch, with light gray, almost white, slightly pebbles skin. It has visible eardrums and large gray eyes.

Cope’s Gray Tree Frog, one of my local favorites, is one of 5 frog species with freeze tolerance. These frogs can freeze up to half of their body’s water and revive in spring! They are often green when young and grow gray as they age.

Dryophytes chrysoscelis, Dan Vickers, 2011, iNaturalist.

One fun fact about this frog is that they support and love trans people 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️

A truly spectacular frog sits upon a field of moss, black with small blue speckles, giving them an appearance similar to that of stars in a night sky. These “stars” protrude slightly from the skin, giving it an almost spiky appearance. Irregular red patches cover the chest and upper hind legs, standing out as a nebula does against the backdrop of stars. It is almost too beautiful to look upon.

The stunning Galaxy Frog is endemic to portions of the Western Ghats in India. This frog is extremely rare; in a 2021 report, only 14 “official” sightings had been recorded. Despite its vivid coloration, this frog is not poisonous!

Melanobatrachus indicus, Daniel Raju, India, 2020

What a stunner! A red frog with black speckles and defined black eyes. Their legs are blue with black speckles. They are three-toed without webbing.

The Strawberry Poison Frog has up to 30 different morphs, or observable genetic features. These morphs are often separated by island. This species has unusually variable coloration, including this "blue jeans" appearance.
Oophaga pumilio, Felipe Rabanal, 2020, Costa Rica, from iNaturalist

Screenshot from this website, text reads “coming soon: amphibians” below a picture of a yellow frog with black spots, looks like a Panamanian Golden Frog to me!

Incredibly excited

YouTube video by Smithsonian Channel Tree Frog Effortlessly Skydives Away from Hungry Snake

Look at this guy go!! youtu.be/31N892GN4Yk?...

A gliding tree frog, legs and arms outstretched as it glides elegantly through the air, the magnificent webbing on its fingers and toes visible.

The Gliding Tree Frog can use their webbed feet and skin flaps along their sides to glide amongst tree canopies in Central and South America.
Agalychnis spurrelli, 2018, Smithsonian Channel

A lovely frog in the water, with green and black mottled skin on its back and arms, but red and black mottled skin on its belly.

The Oriental Fire-Bellied Toad lacks a vocal sac, so it makes it quiet, musical call by inhaling. Males have been observed to politely wait for nearby calls to conclude before starting their own song.
Bombina orientalis, 2008, USA, Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute

A striking frog clinging to a green step. The frog's dorsal skin is smooth and tan with irregular black spot, the underbelly more grey and textured. On its head, bony protrusions are visible, giving it a "crowned" appearance.

Spiny Headed Tree Frogs like to be heard and not seen. They prefer to hide inside bromeliads, bamboo, and tree holes, but their call can be heard 100 meters away - the length of a football field!
Anotheca spinosa, 2011, USA, Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute

A stout and sturdy frog with olive green skin and a pale yellow underbelly. It has several rows of small dorsal ridges.

African Bullfrogs, or Pixie Frogs, can spend up to 10 months out of the year hibernating in a cocoon. They seem to emerge hungry and will eat insects, snakes, birds, lizards, or even smaller African bullfrogs!
Pyxicephalus adspersus
Steve Ball, 2021, South Africa, from iNaturalist

A frog with beautiful green, black, and white pebbled skin clinging to a small stick against a white background

The Vietnamese Mossy Frog prefers to play dead or curl into a ball when frightened, which is an effective strategy due to its marvelous camouflage.
Theloderma corticale, 2006, USA, Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute

A drawing of a misty swamp covered in lily pads with distant trees. A few flowers rise from the water. A single frog sits on a lilypad in the foreground, with green pebbled skin and a squat, sturdy body. This is a visual taken directly from the linked article and represents the climate of Antarctica 40 million years ago. It looks warm, humid, and green.

A thrilling fact: a member of this genus represents the only frog fossil ever found in Antarctica. Here’s Pollyanna von Knorring’s rendering of that frog at home in balmy Antarctica 40 million years ago, from the article announcing its discovery. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

A stunning photograph of a massive frog in a pond, with pebbled, green dorsal skin, amber eyes, and a yellow-white underbelly. This guy is big!

The Helmeted Water Toad is the only extant member of its genus and is sometimes referred to as a “living fossil,” though I think that’s a bit rude. They can weigh over 6 lbs and can only be found in Chile.
Calyptocephalella gayi
Felipe Rabanal, 2020, Chile, from iNaturalist

A pickerel frog poised on a rock, alert and splendid! It has moist grey-tan skin, yellow pigmentation just visible on the underbelly and upper legs, and rectangular black spots. Just a wonderful little guy!

One of my local favorites, the pickerel frog is the only poisonous frog native to North America! Unlike some other members of their order, the pickerel causes mild skin irritation to humans. Don't rub your eyes after handling though!
Lithobates palustris, James Harding, Michigan State University

A tiny, squat, and vibrantly yellow frog sitting at rest amidst damp soil, just stunning

In their native environment, the golden poison frog is one of the most poisonous animals on earth. One frog contains enough batrachotoxin to kill 20 adult humans - not that they would choose to do so!
Phyllobates terribilis, 2016, Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute

A beautiful light green glass frog sitting on a leaf, squinting at the camera like they're not so sure about this, sitting upright so some of their organs are visible through their transparent skin.

"Glass frog" refers to a group of about 50 species of frogs (in 13 different genera!) known for their transparent abdominal skin.
Centrolenella colymbiphyllum, Panama, 1987
Smithsonian Institution Archives, Acc. 11-009, Image No. 89-11007

Hello! I'm not a herpetologist, I just really love frogs!