Field Guide

The three-toed box turtle usually has three hind toes. Its high-domed shell usually has a top ridge and is olive or brown with faint yellow or orange lines. Look for it in woodland habitats.

The western painted turtle is a small, brightly colored aquatic turtle. The upper shell is smooth and has a red-orange outer edge. The colorful lower shell has a prominent pattern of brown markings. It is found nearly everywhere in the state except the southeast region.

Although well equipped for an aquatic existence, the Mississippi mud turtle spends as much time wandering about on land as it does in water. Look for it in the Mississippi Lowlands of Missouri’s Bootheel.

The green frog looks similar to a bullfrog but is smaller and has a ridge of skin along the sides of the back that is not found on bullfrogs. It is a game animal in Missouri.

The northern leopard frog is a medium-sized frog with dark spots on the back. Two skin folds run down each side of the back. In Missouri, it only occurs in a few northwestern counties along the Iowa border.

The southern leopard frog is an excellent jumper and quickly leaps into water when startled. From March through July, the males make chuckling or quacking calls from shallow water. Occurs statewide except for the northwestern corner.

A medium-sized spotted frog, the plains leopard frog lives in pastures, prairies, and marshes. The ridge of skin along each side of the back is broken, and a small hind section of it is shifted upward. It occurs nearly statewide, including the Bootheel, but is only rarely present in the Ozarks.

A very secretive species, the northern crawfish frog spends most of its time hidden burrows, typically those made by crayfish. It is restricted to native prairie or former prairie areas and is a species of conservation concern in Missouri.

The American bullfrog is Missouri’s largest frog. This common species is easy to hear on warm nights when the males call a deep, sonorous “jug-a-rum, jug-a-rum” that can be heard from half a mile away.

American toads are well-known and occur statewide. Missouri has two subspecies: the eastern American toad in the northern half, and the dwarf American toad in the southern half.