Pickerel Frog

Description:

A smooth-skinned frog with olive green dorsal rectangular spots, which were arranged in two rows. The underside of its hindlegs were brilliant orange-yellow. It was approximately 5cm long.

Habitat:

I spotted two of these frogs next to a river in a deciduous forest.

Notes:

Pickerel frogs have an excellent defense mechanism - they emit skin secretions which can be irritating to people and toxic to predators, which means that the pickerel frog is the only poisonous frog native to the United States. I briefly (and gently) handled this frog as part of a homeschool science lesson that I was teaching my kids. I washed my hands afterward and suffered no ill effects.