What makes a toad a toad?

[Kurt]

To add to the confusion, I present the Suriname toad, a frog that is in the family Pipidae. Pipidae also includes such familiar frogs as the African clawed frog and the dwarf clawed frog.

Then there is Microhylidae, who's member are either called narrow-mouth frogs or narrow-mouthed toads, depending who you are talking too.

Also, there is Brachycephalidae, the saddle-backed toads.

Remember, toad is just a word

[Kerry1968]

Thanks, I'm even more confused now!

So basically, the toad/frog it gets classified into it's family type based on it's look? Such as the Bufonidae looking frogs with Bufonidae characteristics gets classified as that type?

[John]

Common names are not classification. Common names really don't mean that much.

[Kurt]

Exactly. That was the point I was trying to make, maybe I should've made it more clearer.

[John]

I was talking to Kerry.

[Kevin1]

Very interesting thread.
I always used to wonder about the bombina genus, I thought the were very frog-like for a toad.
When I was younger I got a book for christmas called The Terrarium by Harald Jes.
In it there was a picture of an African Bullfrog, though the caption said it was a pyxie toad. Left me confused for quite sometime.

[Kurt]

I was talking to Kerry.

I know. I was just stating that you said it better than I, thats all.

[John]

Every time I show my male African Bullfrog to people they think he's a toad. Sad really - he's much more handsome!

[BlacklightHunter]

When I was a kid I thought that tadpoles would be toads and pollywoggs would be frogs lol.

[Kurt]

Too funny.

[Kerry1968]

What's a pollywog?

[Kurt]

Another name for tadpole.