Found throughout the UK, they can be identified by their smooth skin and long legs; perfect for hopping. Varying hugely in colour, they will usually have dark spots and stripes and a ‘mask’ behind the eye. Tadpoles are faintly speckled golden-brown, commonly found in garden ponds; an extremely important breeding habitat for this species. Common frogspawn is laid in large clumps at the surface.

Latin: Rana temporaria

Often a dark sandy colour, they can be told apart from the common frog by their flat, broad bodies and warty, dry skin. They also usually crawl rather than hop. Widespread across mainland UK, they’re famous for migrating en-masse in the early spring to their breeding ponds after emerging from their winter hibernation. Toadspawn is laid in long strings and toad tadpoles are solid black in colour.

Latin: Bufo bufo

Our biggest newt – they can get to be 15cm long! Mostly black in colour with warty skin, white-spotted flanks and a striking orange belly (as unique as a human fingerprint). Males have a long, wavy crest along the body and tail during the breeding season. They’re patchily distributed across the UK as they suffer significantly from habitat loss. In spring, females lay around 300 eggs, one by one, inside the leaves of aquatic plants.

Latin: Triturus cristatus

Smaller than the common toad with variable colouring, they breed in warm, shallow, ephemeral pools. Although they breed in ponds, they spend a lot of time on land; on quiet spring nights, their loud rasping croak can be heard up to 2km away as the males all sing together to attract females, who lay single strings of spawn unlike the double strings of common toad. They are sadly now rare and are largely restricted to coastal sand dunes.

Latin: Epidalea calamita

This species looks very similar to the smooth newt, but is less likely to be found in garden ponds. Instead they prefer shallow pools on acidic soils, such as upland, heathland and moorland. They have a few spots on their belly but none on the throat, unlike the smooth newt. During the breeding seasons the males develop black webbing on their feet, for which they are named. Eggs, like those of the other newt species, are laid singly on plants.

Latin: Lissotriton helveticus

Brown or green with dark blotches and a lighter stripe along their back, with a pair of ridges that run from the eyes, down the back. Breeding later in the year than our other frogs and toads, their spawn is laid in small rafts coinciding with the onset of warm nights in May/June, when our other species’ young are likely to already be walking on four legs. Extinct from the UK by the mid-90s, they have since been reintroduced to a handful of sites in Norfolk.

Latin: Pelophylax lessonae

Also known as ‘common’ newt, they are smaller than the great crested newt but with similar belly markings and wavy crest of the male in the breeding season. They’re widespread in the UK and the most likely newt species that you will find in a garden pond. Single eggs are laid, wrapped in a leaf. You can distinguish newt larvae from toad and frog tadpoles as they have obviously feathered gills.

Latin: Lissotriton vulgaris

This unusual looking largish toad is almost exclusively aquatic. Its presence in this country is due to its use in pregnancy tests. There have been occasional escapes from laboratories on the Isle of Wight and in south Wales. Despite its origin in Africa it is extremely hardy although we have no record of it breeding here.

It is a very plump toad, usually a plain greyish or brown in colour and relatively smooth skinned. It's eyes are mounted almost directly on top of its head. It has very hard claws on its hind feet - thus the name. It feeds primarily under water, stirring up the silt and mud at the bottom of pools and streams searching for prey. Again it has a voracious appetite and must be regarded as a threat to many native species.

Latin: Xenopus laevis

Another frequent escapee from captivity which seems to thrive in this country. It is of much the same size as our two smaller species of newt and is thus not so easily noticed as the Italian crested newt. It can however be easily identified being very dark, frequently black in colour with a blueish tint. It has a bright red underside and some specimens have a suggestion of a red vertebral stripe. It does not appear to be common in the UK but certainly is widespread.

Latin: Mesotriton alpestris

This large (up to 25 centimeters long) frog from the United States is the real menace amongst our introduced species. It has a voracious appetite and will eat just about anything smaller than itself. It thus presents a serious threat to much of our wildlife. Apart from its sheer size the call of the males is unmistakable - it is from this call that the frog gets its name. It is found in this country largely as a result of its tadpoles being sold in pet shops. More often than not the frog, once metamorphosed, is deliberately released by thoughtless people, or escapes. It's distribution in the UK is extremely sporadic but it has been known to breed in the wild which is of grave concern. Of all our introduced species this gives most cause for concern and complete eradication from the wild in this country is essential.

Latin: Lithobates catesbeianus

Marsh frog (Left) & Edible frog (right)

These two frogs form an unusual species complex (which includes our native pool frog due not only to their close relationship but also the results of them inter-breeding.

The marsh frog was introduced in the mid thirties on the edge of Romney Marsh. It has since expanded throughout most of the marsh and much of the surrounding countryside in both Kent and Sussex. Other introductions have occurred and it can be found at various locations, throughout southern England in particular. It is the largest and most distinctive of the green frogs.

The edible frog is harder to differentiate. It has been introduced, particularly in southern England. It has proved to be particularly successful in East Anglia and south-eastern England. The complex of waterways and ponds in Surrey and the north of Sussex have a clearly growing population.

Both species have quite loud calls during the breeding season. This is typically in May, much later than the common frog. The tadpoles grow considerably larger before metamorphosis and on occasion will over-winter and metamorphose early in the following spring.

The two species can be told apart by the length of the back leg and the size of the meta-tarsal tubercle - this is a bulge found at the base of the shortest rear toe. The marsh frog has the longest hind leg in proportion to its body with the smallest metatarsal tubercle. The edible frog has shorter hind legs and a larger metatarsal tubercle.

Latin: Marsh frog - Pelophylax ridibundus • Edible frog - Pelophylax esculentus

This newt is closely related to our own great crested newt (Triturus cristatus) and was, in fact, formerly regarded as a sub-species. This species has appeared in the UK largely as escapees from captive populations. While it is a beautiful animal it does, unfortunately represent a threat to our native species as it shares habitat and the two species readily inter-breed. It is widespread in the south of England but fortunately not common.In appearance it is very similar to the great crested newt, but distinguishing characteristics include very little (often none) white stippling on the flanks, a somewhat smoother skin and the presence of a yellow or reddish vertebral line in juveniles and females.

Latin: Triturus carnifex

A native of northern Europe, the midwife toad was introduced into a garden in Bedford at the end of the nineteenth century. It thrived and expanded in the locality and further colonies were started in Yorkshire, Worksop and south Devon. In addition, other colonies have arisen from escapees from captivity. The current status of most of these colonies is now unclear but it is safe to say that a number remain in the wild. Fortunately they do not appear to represent a significant competitive or predatorial threat to our native wildlife.

This is a small greyish toad, nocturnal in habit and preferring small ponds for breeding. The males have a call similar to a single bell-like tone - thus their other name; the Bell Toad. Their breeding habits are unusual. The spawn string contains a small number of eggs and immediately after fertilisation the male wraps it around his hind limbs and carries it around until the eggs are ready to hatch. It then visits a suitable pool where they hatch and swim away. The tadpoles grow exceptionally large, but the speed of growth is such that they often have to over-winter as tadpoles and metamorphose in the following spring.

Latin: Alytes obstetricans