Although they share New Zealand with a few other species of frogs, the members of this family are the only frogs that are actually native to New Zealand. Humans introduced, or brought in, the others, which include two species of bell frogs and a brown tree frog. New Zealand frogs live on North, Maud, Great Barrier, and Stephens Islands. Conservationists in 1997 introduced one of the four spec…
Both species live in North America. The coastal tailed frog lives along the Pacific Ocean coastline from northern California in the United States into British Columbia in Canada, but not on Canada's Vancouver Island. The Rocky Mountain tailed frog makes its home in Idaho, western Montana, southeastern Washington, northeastern Oregon, and the most southeastern portion of British Columbi…
Fire-bellied toads and barbourulas can be found in Europe and Asia, including parts of eastern and western Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, China, and Korea. Some species also live farther south in Vietnam, Borneo, and the Philippines. The members of this family live mostly in the water. The fire-bellied toads prefer marshy areas, or small, often shallow ponds, where the water has little if any curre…
These frogs are mainly European, living in both central and southern Europe. Some also live in northwestern Africa and Israel. Their diets may include beetles, caterpillars, grasshoppers, flies, and other insects, as well as other types of invertebrates (in-VER-teh-brehts), which are animals without backbones. These invertebrates may include spiders, pillbugs, and snails. Although their tongu…
This species is not considered to be at risk. It is quite common in parts of Mexico and Central America, but it is rare in the United States and only lives in a few scattered areas in Texas. For this reason, Texas Parks and Wildlife lists it as threatened. …
Members of this family live in many different watering holes including mucky swamps, small pools of water that dry up during part of the year, large ponds that are filled all year long, and slow-flowing rivers and streams. They rarely leave the water. If their pool dries up, they typically burrow into the still-wet muck at the bottom and wait for the rains to return. …
Asian toadfrogs live in many areas of Southeast Asia and Indonesia. Although Asian toadfrogs live in many different habitats, most tend to prefer old, thick forests that have ground covered by layers of leaves. Most of them move into clean and clear streams, usually those with slow currents, to breed. Many Asian toadfrogs eat a wide variety of invertebrates (in-VER-teh-brehts), or animals wit…
Four species live from Europe and western Asia to northwestern Africa. The remaining seven are North American species, found from southern Mexico through the United States and to southern Canada. Spadefoot toads are burrowing frogs that live in areas with loose, often sandy soil and usually dry weather. Some, like the Plains spadefoot toad, can live in almost desert-like conditions. They come…
All three species of this family live in Europe and/or western Asia. The species known simply as the parsley frog or common parsley frog is found in southwestern Europe. The Caucasus parsley frog lives in Turkey and other areas near the Caspian Sea. The Iberian parsley frog lives in the southern parts of Portugal and Spain. Parsley frogs live in various moist places, often near water. Some ma…
Ghost frogs live in and around South Africa's Drakensberg Mountains, where some of the world's highest waterfalls are found. The ghost frogs may make their homes among the forests and sometimes grasslands of the Drakensberg mountain range, which are the highest mountains in South Africa. They can be found from sea level up the mountains' steep slopes to 9,843 feet (3,000 …
Within Seychelles, these frogs live only on Mahé and Silhouette islands, and usually more than 656 feet (200 meters) above sea level, although a single Thomasset's frog was found lower on the mountain, at about 312 feet (95 meters) above sea level. Rainforests are home for all four species. The Seychelles palm frog only lives in those areas that have plenty of palms, and Thomass…
Australian ground frogs are found in Australia and much of New Guinea. Because many of these species burrow or otherwise stay out of sight during the day, people rarely see them. For some people who live in the deserts of Australia, however, a few of the burrowing species can be a good source of water. They dig up the frogs, whose bodies are plump with stored water, and suck the liquid from t…
Most of the species in this family live only in Australia, but at least two also are found in southern New Guinea. …
