Toad

Description:

These things were in a 'herd' of several hundred near a pond in Northern Illinois. They scattered when I walked, but I didn't see any of them actually head into the water (unlike the monster bullfrogs who lept about seven feet out when they heard me coming). At *best* they were two cm long. The research I did says that the smallest amphibians in Northern Illinois are cricket frogs, but they look different. A lot different. I can't find images of anything with eyes flush with the head and false eyes on the back of the head. I'm pretty sure the last shot is the tadpoles of these frogs/toads. They're even smaller than the hoppers and they have the same stripes on the tail that the adult has on their legs.